Shoulder Issue

[Jpearson]

Hello everyone,

I am having a frustrating shoulder issue and seeing as Mark is away until Tuesday I thought I would run it by you guys first!

So the problem is not really a new one. When I was squatting tonight my shoulder felt fine, it was after I would unload the bar in the rack that my left shoulder would begin to feel weak I guess is the best way to describe it. There was no real pain, it felt fine while I was squatting and my blood was rushing. Like I said though after I would unload the bar it would feel weak. It really was an odd sensation, it is very hard for me to describe. After my 2nd or 3rd set I noticed if I raised my arm so that it was parallel to the ground my hand would be shaking. I waited quite a while in between sets so that the sensation in my left shoulder and down my arm would disappear. I completed my 3 sets of 5 and then went on to press.

The press weight did not feel too heavy even though it was a PR for me, but the press just didn't feel right. My left arm wasn't all in it and lowering the weight felt different than it ever has in the past. I felt a sensation in my left elbow, no serious pain or anything but discomfort. I called it after my at the bottom of my 5th rep, I think I could have eeked it out but no one would die if I didn't so I chose to err on the side of caution.

Some shoulder history. I have never injured it, but when I move it in certain ways there is an audible clicking. I have mentioned it to a doctor and he suggested that the shoulder comes slightly out of its socket. He said to keep exercising and strengthening it and it should eventually take care of itself. It hasn't really taken care of itself, but low bar squats are the only thing that really irritate it. The Press (one of my all time favorite exercises) doesn't bother it one bit. I should mention I did get an x-ray at some point and it showed nothing structurally wrong. (I don't remember it showing anything, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't forget something that important!).

Anyways, I am considering switching to a higher bar position squat until I can get to the bottom of this. I am going to get another professionals opinion of the shoulder. I just wanted to post and see if anyone had anything similar and because I am bummed out because I didn't get to complete my presses and on top of that I missed a chance to see this girl I am nuts about, both in one night.

Thanks for reading!

[coldfire]

Have you tried gripping the bar wider when you squat?

[Steve Hill]

What are you doing for exercises to increase your range of motion with the shoulder? There are a couple shown in SS:BBT, but the one that worked best for me were the dislocation stretch.

Also, you do not mention if you are right or left handed. Generally, people who are not ambidextrous (which is most of us) spend a lot of time doing things with one hand, and not the other. This leads to asymetrical muscle build-up on one arm vs the other, which also may be an issue. Finally, have you looked at your squat in a video to see if you are loading that particular shoulder differently than the other? You have an issue that is asymmetrical. You should be looking for asymmetricality in everything you are doing.

[zepled37]

Maybe you have some shoulder instability? Worst case is maybe that this is caused by damage to the labrum, but I think there can be many reasons for it. I had a torn labrum and still have slightly unstable shoulders (both!). Besides the shoulder surgery to repair the labrum which did help quite a bit in my case, the best thing I did was to ignore the discomfort and work on regaining strength. The stronger I get, the less pain I have. For me presses are pretty good and seem more comfortable than bench presses though I do both.

Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor and you want to make sure you are not ignoring something that you shouldn't be, but after my surgery I basically had 3 different doctors telling me to ignore the pain and do what I can. This advice was coupled with an exam and MRI arthrogram and x-rays to make sure I'm not destroying my shoulder.

[misspelledgeoff]

well if you don't have any pain, and your range of motion is not limited, and you are able to complete all your exercises, then I would just try to train through it and see what happens. that's what i would do if it were my shoulder anyway.

[isis]

Maybe you should press before you squat for a while.

[Jpearson]

Thanks for the replies I appreciate the input!

I usually bring my hands closer as I go through my warm up sets. Which is also when I experience the shoulder issue. I just chalked it up to the weight increasing. I will definitely pay attention to this tomorrow.

For shoulder mobility I include shoulder dislocates in my warm up as well as arm.. circles I guess? A stretch I started doing and found REALLY helped me rack the bar quite firmly was placing my forearm across my lower back and holding that wrist with my other arm and making a big chest. I feel it right in the front of my shoulder.

I am right handed, and there is definitely a strength imbalance between the two arms. I used to video my squats quite a bit, I haven't in a while. I remember in an older video there was a bit of an imbalance in how I was racking the bar on my back. I have worked on it since and don't think there is any problem. I look at the mirror when I unrack the bar from the rack and it looks to be resting evenly on my shoulders.

I don't really know what the labrum is, maybe I will read into that. See if anything sounds familiar. I wouldn't say that I feel my shoulders are unstable though. Although that might be an accurate description of the sensation I was feeling last night. I can't say that as I get stronger the pain gets less though.

I have trained through it up until now, I decided against 2 sets of pressing last night because of how the first one went.

I will consider pressing before I squat... I love the warm-up that the squat gives though.

[BCS]

Personally, I wouldn't move the squat after the press. I don't want to do anything that fatigues the muscles that hold my spine in line before I squat. Are your elbows back when you squat or under the bar? How wide do you grip the bar on your squat? You might try inching them out a little at a time to relieve some tension in your shoulder. Be sure you are activating your traps as you press.

[Jpearson]

I feel I do a pretty good job of locking the bar in with my elbows and chest. The bar position feels sturdy.

On the bar my shoulders are within the smooth strip before the knurl starts. My hands usually start with my index fingers on or just outside of the rings (I think they have something to do with legal bench press grip?) and as I progress through my sets I usually get my ring fingers or my pinkys on the rings.

[brianb]

Have you tried gripping the bar wider when you squat?

I too think it might be a squat grip width issue. I tried adjusting my grip closer by less than 1" on either side and my elbow, tricep and shoulder started hurting on one side. The pain goes away when I go back to my old grip (with pinkies on the smooth rings).