Shoulder clicks/pops

[catspaw]

My shoulders notoriously make all sorts of clicking and popping when I do pull-ups or even presses sometimes. When I do simple PVC-pipe shoulder dislocations, it often takes a good solid 5-10 mins before I can get to the point where they're not clicking on every rotation, at which point they're usually dully-sore for a few hours.

So I guess my question is:

Should I be working through the clicks (ie: doing shoulder rotations) daily with the hopes that eventually they'll stop?

Or should I be not working through the clicks, since doing so seems to aggravate them afterwards?

[AKLulu]

My shoulders click and pop a lot too, but it's just noise, it doesn't hurt me. I'd say if it irritates them, I'd take it easy. Still work them out a bit to strengthen them, but push them too hard.

[cianalas]

From everything I've found, if it doesn't hurt when it pops, you're good to go. It's just a tendon slipping back into position. Strengthening it can help it go away, or at least happen less often.

If it hurts when it pops, stop before then and you might be able to slowly work your way back into a full range of motion safely as the joint strengthens.

[Waldo]

Clicking, popping and grinding though can and does aggravate the tendon over time which leads to swelling and soreness which leads to more clicking, popping and grinding, which leads to more swelling and soreness, etc....

The swelling though is internal to the shoulder, you can't really directly see or feel it.

Shoulder and scapula mobility work should ease the issue over time, but shoulder impingement overall takes a long time to sort out. I've had this issue for a long time (possibly decades) but it has really flared up as of late. Anivair has posted a couple links to a couple great shoulder mobility exercise series that should address this issue.

[161803398874989]

If you've had it for your whole life, I wouldn't worry about it. My left ankle clicks constantly, but never have I suffered an ankle injury or felt any kind of pain.

Clicking, popping and cracking does not inflamate the tendon per se, in my knowledge.

[Waldo]

If you've had it for your whole life, I wouldn't worry about it. My left ankle clicks constantly, but never have I suffered an ankle injury or felt any kind of pain.

Clicking, popping and cracking does not inflamate the tendon per se, in my knowledge.

The shoulder is a different joint than the ankle though. You normally wouldn't notice a little inflammation, however in the shoulder the nature of the joint tends to multiply things.

My shoulders crack and have always cracked when doing windmills. However if I regularly do windmills, things start getting sore from all the cracking, the soreness and inflammation tightens things up, makes it crack even easier, and so on, in a feedback cycle. Windmills, instead of warming my shoulders up, mess my shoulders up. Opening up the shoulders and gaining mobility will eliminate the cracking. If you read Sommer's how to on dislocates, he indicates if anything cracks or pops, even if it seems benign, that your hands are too close together. I unfortunately do not own a broom with a long enough handle to avoid cracking.

[Sloth the Enduring]

Your pvc might be too short, have you tried dislocators with something longer? I use a jump rope and am trying to build up to shorter lengths.

I don't know how similar your shoulder is to my injuries, but my beat up rotator cuff has responded well to strengthening the scapular and other accessory muscles. I do 3 sets of 10 face pulls and front and back pull aparts with a resistance band, 3X10 wall slides, and have recently started doing bent over crucifix holds for two minutes (unweighted - will build up to little pink dumbbells).

Also, exercises where you hold a weight overhead with pressing it help to strengthen your shoulder without stressing it - such as Turkish get ups, overhead squats, or front squats with the load out front. I can't do overhead presses, but I do these squats sometimes and they put a good burn on my shoulder without making it ache.

Deadlifting and farmer's walks are supposed to pack the socket so that everything holds together better, but I haven't noticed a difference.

Different versions of the exercises might work better for you, chin ups instead of pull ups. Push ups are often healthier for a bad shoulder because your scapulas can float, and floor presses can be better because of their shorter range of motion.

[Thrillho]

Clicked and popped for YEARS, never shown a sign of stopping. Great for sparring matches, though, when I get my arm twisted and it goes CRACKLEPOP and the other guy says "OH GOD ARE YOU OK?!?!"

[Leimanu]

Our massage school mantra: "Pain is an indication to change your behavior."

When I started lifting, my knees started popping. I asked a chiropractor and she said popping is normal and as long as it doesn't hurt, it's OK.

[161803398874989]

The shoulder is a different joint than the ankle though. You normally wouldn't notice a little inflammation, however in the shoulder the nature of the joint tends to multiply things.

My shoulders crack and have always cracked when doing windmills. However if I regularly do windmills, things start getting sore from all the cracking, the soreness and inflammation tightens things up, makes it crack even easier, and so on, in a feedback cycle. Windmills, instead of warming my shoulders up, mess my shoulders up. Opening up the shoulders and gaining mobility will eliminate the cracking. If you read Sommer's how to on dislocates, he indicates if anything cracks or pops, even if it seems benign, that your hands are too close together. I unfortunately do not own a broom with a long enough handle to avoid cracking.

Like I said, if it hurts, it's a problem. I wish you best of luck with your shoulder.

[rocktavius]

My shoulders do the same sort of thing you are describing. It's fairly common for women, actually. Me, my mother and my sister all have a narrower-than-usual cup for the shoulder joint, and it causes tendon pain and inflammation. I saw an ortho and he said it causes tendonitis with enough aggravation, and I actually had my shoulder freeze up on me a couple of times. Maybe get it checked out with an ortho (if you have the insurance to see one), just to be safe. Do the other women in your family ever have problems with their shoulders?