This shoulder injury sucks. Back in late February I benched 275 without warming up, besides 225x1. I ended up injuring my right shoulder(it popped I guess), and it has gotten somewhat better but it still hurts. Basically, here’s the rundown:
What happened: Hurt my shoulder benching without warming up
When did it happen: Over 2 months ago
How it hurts: Wide grip bench and Military Press hurts it. Oddly, Close grip doesn’t seem to hurt, but just a little bit. Pushups hurt it too. DIPS ESPECIALLY HURT!!!.
What region hurts: It’s an anterior(front) shoulder injury. It’s also more on the inside (towards chest), but the region that hurts the most is that very bony part of the top of the shoulder(part clavicle, but also mostly that flat hard bone at the top)
Now the question I need answered is: What is the possible diagnosis(I know I need to get it checked out, but you guys might be able to offer some good help!), and how do I treat it?
Bc if you popped something out of place they will pop it back in place! Simple, Yes? Also quit doing dips, military press. pushups, and wide grip bench press! Stick with a closer grip bench press (if you must bench)! The fact that doing BW pushups is hurting you makes this injury sound very serious! Go get it checked out by a sports doc ASAP. Get the X-rays done, I think they will show you if anything popped out!
P.S. IF IT HURTS, YOU ARE NOT MAKING THINGS BETTER! YOU ARE MAKING THINGS WORSE!
Do not go see a chiropractor for this injury. Listen to Firebird and do what he says word-for-word. A chiropractor will likely take an x-ray, which will NOT show any soft tissue damage, and then get you into a never ending littany of “therapy” sessions that will do nothing for your injury. Take it from someone who has gone under the knife three times to correct shoulder issues, GO SEE A GOOD ORTHOPOEDIST.
If he “popped” it then popping back in place would be the correct thing to go? Right? Actually, I would go see a sports doctor first and if they recommend a chiro then I would go to the chiro.
I know hindsight’s 20-20 but next time make sure that you get your core temp warmed up before doing any exercise! I don’t find it necessary to stretch bc the warmup sets in most exercises will stretch the muscles (while under load) for you. The only exception to the aforementioned is when warming up for squats.
I like warming up on a bike for 7-10 min and then making sure I only have 1-2 RI in my warmup sets.
I could never diagnose or prognose this injury without doing an evaluation, but it sound like he has seperated his shoulder (the clavicle has been torn away from the acromion process). When this occurs, the clavicle head will protrude upwards, because there is only a shallow divot that it sits in, and it is only held there by surrounding ligaments. Therefore, the clavicle doesn’t pop in or out, it just sits on the acromion and is supported by the ligaments. Any injury can become chronic without rehab or therapy. It is very likely that he could still be experiencing problems from a soft tissue injury. And, yes, go see the sports doc first, if he ferers you to a chiro, go see the chiro then.
FireBird- yes! This is exactly what I believe I have too. A shoulder separation… I have a bump/protrusion at the end of the clavicle, so I assume there is some damage to my AC joint. I am going to see a shoulder specialist in 1 week, but what do you suggest I do about my injury? It has been 3 long months of injury =/
I’ve had a worst case shoulder injury that nearly ended my career in sports, and I have to say that unfortunately you seem to have the same kind of symptoms I had.
Personally everything that could tear / break in my shoulder region did, but in your case it sounds like you’ve got some damage in your ac-joint due to the pain in the top of the bone, which could need a surgery in a worst case scenario to correct things. The anterior pain sounds like a rotator cuff tear, but then again I’m just saying this from a personal experience and I’m no doctor.
Treatment before you see the specialist: Ice it several times per day for 20minutes, don’t do weights! You could only be making things a lot worse.
Go see the specialist, he’ll know what’s best for you. Get MRIs, everything to be sure that it’s nothing bad / to define the true severity.
Send me a PM to get further information.
Edit: Does it hurt when you raise your hand past 90 degrees / can you raise it above that? If there’s pain, there’s some serious problems.
Hm, I havent considered icing like that. Do you really think itll do me any good?
About the raising my hand thing, I can basically move my whole arm without pain(very very very slight pain in few motions). It’s when I start pushing with weight that it hurts.
Definitely ice after any training that you do, and if it bothers you throughout the day. You might want to try taping the clavicle while you lift too (if you have access to an athletic trainer who knows what they are doing). Avoid overhead lifts until you see the doc. You may also want to do an ice massage over the anterior deltoid, as it sounds like you may have some bursitis or biceps tendonitis (after revisiting the original post).
Thus far, after my visit to the ortho, it appears that I just have an inflamed AC joint. Great, better than a shoulder separation which I thought it was.(Still getting MRI to confirm this though). The x-ray didn’t show anything serious I assume.
Assuming it is just an inflamed AC joint, what are some good tips to ensure it recovers? I’ve been straining it for 3 months indirectly, but just recently stopped all working out.
Sorry but an inflammed AC joint is the same as a grade I seperation. No worries though. Just get it stabalized ie taping. Find an individual that knows either McConnel taping or Kiniseo taping, preferably the first. Then If you are going to do full ROM activities, do it with light weight, if you are going to do heavy activities limit the range of motion to elbows parallel to you (bench) or ground (military press) and don’t go behind your head with MP.
It is important to stress this joint WITHOUT PAIN. Ice if it hurts, don’t ice all the time, you want the blood flow to the area to assist with the healing, if it hurts you pushed it too hard.
This goes for all injuries, if its a joint stabalize it however and stress it, if it is a muslce work it in ways that don’t cause pain. Gradually progress to where you don’t need stabalization, or there is no pain with more difficult activities.
Now this information is within reason, a blown ACL or grade III or higher AC sprain in most cases need to be surgically stabalized.
Hope that helps.
Just wondering, I have a semi- big bump where the AC joint is, or right by there. Does this indicate a grade II or III separation? Or can it just be swelling thats pushing it up?
