# Shoulder pain on press days



## rob warrington (Jan 4, 2012)

Hi all. I'm gutted. Very gutted. Been making lots of really good gains in the gym of late , deadlifts up squats up. Feeling stronger than ever now at 35 than ever. But last 3 weeks my right shoulder has been giving me grief when doing flat bench or incline bench, also any sort of shoulder press , so gave it a rest for a week or so and felt fine. Went to the gym tonight and thought I'd go light, oh boy the pain is worse than ever. Now my shoulders have always been my weekest link but never caused me pain, just not my strongest body part. 
Where do I go from here? I think I know I'm going to have to rest it, but for how long. 
Anyone had anything similar ?

Regards 
Rob


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## Hereisphilly (Nov 17, 2014)

Is the pain in the front of your shoulder?

I had this, and narrowed it down to my rotator cuff, so did excercises to target these (can give you a list)

I also backed off on the bench press, and used dumbbells for a month, as these require way more stabilising from your shoulder, so works the rotator cuff too
Did that for a couple of months, then back to the barbell and found I could bench more with no pain


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## rob warrington (Jan 4, 2012)

It's the side of my right shoulder. I don't often use flat barbel bench and do tend to use dumbells as I find it far better for my joints. I know my limits and I do have dodgy knees and my left shoulder does give me grief now and again, I blame my job ( near 20 years plumbing ) on that haha so I tend to do what works for me in the gym and ignore the 'what do you bench rubbish'


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## Rayaan (Jun 1, 2014)

Any pain when sleeping, at rest or when rotating the shoulder? Any weakness during flexion and abduction of the shoulder? Are you able to lift your arm above your head?

From what you've said already, including your history of recurrent lifting, it does make it more likely to be a rotator cuff injury. 

Google some rotator cuff exercises and do them everyday. Lay off the lifting for a few weeks but keep the shoulder mobile. Take some painkillers if needed (paracetamol or if no good, codeine) and some Ibuprofen to stop the inflammation. 

Dont bother using Ibuprofen gel - evidence base for it is crap and it essentially sits in the surface with poor tissue absorption.

If you're still having trouble, best to see your GP, let him/her know about what you've used over the counter and the exercises you've done. Most likely they'll get some scans done, give you some Naproxen to try out (Ibuprofen's bigger brother). If all else fails, its either steroid injections or surgery.

Be aware that some rotator cuff injuries can take up to 6 months to heal though - it doesn't happen overnight.


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## rob warrington (Jan 4, 2012)

Thanks for reply. No it doesn't usually give me any bother doing anything even I'm work, just any pressing movement in the gym. This morning is the first time I can feel it but I guess that's from last night in the gym. 
I will do as you suggested and find some info and read up on it. 
Thanks all for replies


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## JMorty (Apr 25, 2011)

I had an issue with this also, was a rotator cuff strain.

I had to back off to complete stop on all upper body exercises. Even bicep curls were hurting mine. During this time I did all rotator cuff exercises, at the lowest weight possible, every time I stepped into the gym for two/three weeks.
That really helped but I still had to start slow with chest exercises.

Worse thing to do is to carry on regardless.

I'm happy to help if you need any advice.


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## dave-g (Nov 14, 2009)

Ive got a rotator cuff injury, mainly through work, what sort of excercises can you recommend?

Hurts even on db chest days, moved to incline bench but still pings a bit, after a few months!


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## Rayaan (Jun 1, 2014)

dave-g said:


> Ive got a rotator cuff injury, mainly through work, what sort of excercises can you recommend?
> 
> Hurts even on db chest days, moved to incline bench but still pings a bit, after a few months!












You'll need a resistance band for them. Get one with medium resistance (I can never remember the colours!) :lol:


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## armufti (Oct 11, 2016)

Just as an addition, if it is really quite painful, do these (44 and 43) in sidelying with a light weight dumbell, really controlling the movement. I'd also recommend looking at the technique. Rather than hand to chest, you want hand to just below ribcage.

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## rob warrington (Jan 4, 2012)

Some great advice there . Thanks .


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## JMorty (Apr 25, 2011)

Rayaan said:


> You'll need a resistance band for them. Get one with medium resistance (I can never remember the colours!) :lol:


These are all great, you can do them on a cable fly machine. That's what I did to rehabilitate mine.



dave-g said:


> Ive got a rotator cuff injury, mainly through work, what sort of excercises can you recommend?
> 
> Hurts even on db chest days, moved to incline bench but still pings a bit, after a few months!


DB chest press will be even worse than barbell as you will use your RC even more for stability!

I had to stop upper body for 2 weeks, whilst doing the above on the cable machine, to just let it heal.


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## dave-g (Nov 14, 2009)

That's disappointing to hear, I even paid out for a personal trainer to make a new plan for me and he swore by db chest press!

To be fair though, he also recommended doing bench dips for tri's which is an absolute killer when your shoulder hurts. 

Thanks for that above, I'll try them out!


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## JMorty (Apr 25, 2011)

dave-g said:


> That's disappointing to hear, I even paid out for a personal trainer to make a new plan for me and he swore by db chest press!
> 
> To be fair though, he also recommended doing bench dips for tri's which is an absolute killer when your shoulder hurts.
> 
> Thanks for that above, I'll try them out!


For sure db chest press is the bomb but not with rc injuries. Did he say they would be good with an rc injury or at least a shoulder impingement?


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## kingswood (Jun 23, 2016)

i have similar and same age at 36. ive been training for 20 years now and luckily dont have a job grafting so all my shoulder pain can be put down to the years training.

hurts like hell when benching, like a stabbing pain - all i can hope to do it maintain the current level of pain. try some glucosamine sulphate and a decent recovery supplement.

i wouldnt have much faith in doctors, all theyll say is have a few months off. they dont understand weight training - get more help if you went in and said u was a smack head. as for a scan youll have to lay it on massively thick, cant work etc for the doc to even consider referring.

sorry to be the bearing of bad news but im sure youd rather have it straight.

the rotary cuff exercises above are good, alot of the rugby lads have issues with rotary and do them


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## mayhem85 (May 8, 2012)

Go see a physiotherapist, I tore my deltoid, had 30% movement in my right arm. I cannot stress enough how beneficial physio was for me, but do your research first there are a few poor physios out there


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## kingswood (Jun 23, 2016)

mayhem85 said:


> Go see a physiotherapist, I tore my deltoid, had 30% movement in my right arm. I cannot stress enough how beneficial physio was for me, but do your research first there are a few poor physios out there


good advice, i forgot to mention it as im too tight!

maybe see if your employer can refer/pay for you as many big companies (with full pay sick) run schemes for staff


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## armufti (Oct 11, 2016)

Am a physio myself by the way. Where about are you located?

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## RedUntilDead (Feb 10, 2009)

I suffer the same too and have done for a few years. Used the exercises listed but now at age 44 I have decided to swerve heavy weights. From experience I know how much I can push before risking weeks of pain which is good enough for me. 
Physio was great and helped me at the start and I just keep on with what he taught me.
Doctors are not always receptive to the idea of lifting.


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## pt1 (Feb 8, 2014)

Shoulder injuries are very common.usually from poor form when you first start out benching.i only use decline bench press now and get 0 shoulder pain plus getting much stronger.only do lighter dumbell flys on the flat or incline.if you must do flat bench your form must be spot on,keep your shoulders right back


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## Rayaan (Jun 1, 2014)

kingswood said:


> i have similar and same age at 36. ive been training for 20 years now and luckily dont have a job grafting so all my shoulder pain can be put down to the years training.
> 
> hurts like hell when benching, like a stabbing pain - all i can hope to do it maintain the current level of pain. try some glucosamine sulphate and a decent recovery supplement.
> 
> ...


You do realise you've pretty much dissed me here right?

I do weight training myself and have never had a muscle injury. Rotator cuff problems are extremely common. Too many young people coming in with this using extremely heavy weights - 3 reps and very poor form.

The whole point of taking a few months off is for repair. As i mentioned already, these can take up to 6 months to repair and if youre lifting within 3 weeks, itll just get worse. Sort of like picking a scab before the skin underneath has healed, it'll just bleed and become another scab

The effectiveness of Glucosamine is debateable and only works in some people (evidence - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3392795/)

Tell you what does work though - steroid injections and surgery - I've had a few friends with it who I sent privately to get done. Cost a small fortune but they no longer wake up when rolling over.

Worst weight training related injury I've seen are bilateral dislocated shoulders from trying to lift 100kg above head. The guys arms were hanging so low it looked like he had the biggest traps


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## JMorty (Apr 25, 2011)

Lifting is not about being in pain, its about being smart and maximising efficiency. You're better taking a few weeks or months off so you can lift for years than tear you RC completely and never lift again....


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## kingswood (Jun 23, 2016)

Rayaan said:


> You do realise you've pretty much dissed me here right?
> 
> I do weight training myself and have never had a muscle injury. Rotator cuff problems are extremely common. Too many young people coming in with this using extremely heavy weights - 3 reps and very poor form.
> 
> ...


lol, didnt mean to diss you, just maybe two different points of view!

theres no way id be taking months off training, most ive had off was 6 weeks for heart surgery.

agree with the point of Glucosamine - but for a few quid its worth a punt.

as for steroids and surgery, id stay clean of the jabs as there short term and the surgery is a last resort.

in my humble opinion id rather stick to a decent weight, sets of 10 and live with a mild shoulder pain - at my age i dont think thats to bad!


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## uruk hai (Apr 5, 2009)

I had a rotator cuff injury that caused me problems with bench and military press, turned out to be an impinged rotator cuff. Got to the point where I was getting pins and needles in the hand on that side, the answer for me was a few sports massages and lots of mobility work using a light resistance band, warm up, stretching and warm down is crucial for maintaining good shoulder mobility.


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## rob warrington (Jan 4, 2012)

Starting to see some improvement in my shoulder. Still resting and only the other day did I attempt a very very light shoulder workout , just using resistance bands, I think I need to realise at 36 I can't be lifting the same weights I used to haha still doing exercises advised by you guys and I think it's getting better, not 100% but improvement for sure. 
I'll still be giving it a couple more weeks yet before I start any chest or shoulder workouts. 
:thumb:


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## JMorty (Apr 25, 2011)

Good lad!

No reason you can't lift heavy again man! Just make sure your body's getting everything it needs and then there's no reason you can't out lift some silly 20 year olds!!


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