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Thread: Squat: Arm/ Forearm pain

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2021
    Posts
    8

    Default Squat: Arm/ Forearm pain

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    Relevant Information:

    Squat went from 70kg (154lbs) to 90kg(198lbs) in 2 weeks.
    23 years old, 182cm (5'11) and 80kg (176lbs).
    No injuries or operations.
    Left shoulder is always tighter (from the moment I wake up), and sits a bit higher than the right one . Noticable only when paying attention, the height difference is very small.
    If fully relaxed after some light stretching, both shoulders sit at the same height. It often feels like the left shoulder is taking a higher load than the right one. Keeping the bar horizontal often means less contact area with the right shoulder.

    Hello,


    I've been doing the program for 2 weeks, and I am very excited to keep going.
    My problem is that during squats, my left arm hurts.

    Where:
    The origin of the pain can be found exactly in the middle of my arm as seen from the side.
    Between my bicep and tricep, it feels like its around the "brachialis". Pinching there makes the pain worse.
    Forearm also hurts, around the "pronetor teres" area.

    (I looked the anatomy terms up through some medical flashcards to specify the position of the pain. I am no expert on the human body)


    Nature of the pain:
    Its a lingering pain, worsening when i flex my arm or pinch around the area of its source.
    Its constant and low in intensity (4/10). Arm feels as if its tired.
    Pushing with my fingers right below the scapula (where the bar sits) aggravates this feeling.

    What helps:
    Doing the negatives of pull ups, even though painful during the movement, eliminates the pain until I squat again. Proper pull ups hurt.

    All other lifts are completely unaffected. As long as my form is good they dont make the pain worse or better. Range of motion is not affected at all.
    Everyday movements often hurt, like holding a cooking pan or pinching a laptop between my arm and ribcage.
    My grip is fairly wide, with my index resting on the olympic marking. Anything tighter than this aggravates the situation as well.


    Attempts to fix things:
    I realized my elbows were high, and I corrected my form following this article The Elbow Problem | Jordan Feigenbaum
    After a week of implementating this change, things improved, but the pain is still there.
    Suspecting I might be unconsciously pushing the bar up, I started actively pulling the bar down lightly when squatting, with no loss in stability.
    To ensure that pushing the bar up isn't the cause, I stayed in the squat position for 20-30 seconds without unracking the bar (yet pushing against it), and the exact same pain appeared.


    Personal thoughts and possible solutions:

    First thought that comes to mind is that something is getting pinched around the scapula by the bar.
    If that is the case, solving my shoulder's tightness will lead to a more even load distribution (I dont know how one would do this, stretching? At this time I am only doing the squat grip stretching to reach the appropriate position)
    The second thought is that I might be doing everything correct now, yet a light injury caused by improper grip and elbow position in the beginning hasn't properly healed, getting aggravated every time.
    I have no experience on this, so please feel free to correct me if the human body doesnt work this way.

    Thank you for your time

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Garage of GainzZz
    Posts
    3,297

    Default

    Video. We need to see what your back is doing and where your grip is.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2021
    Posts
    8

    Default

    Here are a few pictures and videos. I apologize if they are not perfect, I can film myself again soon, but this is the best I was able to get for now.

    Since my last post, the pain has gotten worse. I cant bench press anymore, and I dont squat anywhere near my work set. Only negatives for chin ups. Press(45kg) and deadlift(110kg) are following the linear progression just fine.
    I went to an orthopedic doctor, who found a slight but normal scoliosis. Left shoulder and right pelvis sit higher. Ive stretched my neck/ traps every time before lifting, with no improvement.

    First video is a light squat, to demonstrate my overall form

    And also a picture
    Back_pic.jpg

    Second video is me trying to assume the correct position under the bar


    And a still image of how things usually look like at the end
    pic_skewed.jpg

    As is visible, my right shoulder slides forward way more than my left one. The left one is stiff, and "meets" the bar earlier than the right one. The right shoulder essentially sits in mid air, so I need to push it further forwards to make contact with the bar.
    Ive tried to fix this, following the cues of a person who's there when I am lifting. But without external assistance, I cant assume the correct position on my own. Even when everything is set up and looks good (when someone else fixes my grip), my right shoulder stilll doesnt take its fair share of the load.
    The right side being more forward also leads to my right wrist slowly "riding" the bar, especially as I get more sweaty.

    The position I assume is very painful as is, and even slight changes make it worse. Ive tried lowering my elbows as well as holding the bar more firmly (more of my palm touching the bar), but anything more than what you see is really painful.
    My hands are as narrow as possible, anything more than this is impossible to hold for a proper set.


    There's one more video, which isnt as good, but might provide some information. I wont be able to have someone film me again for a few days because of covid restrictions, and I didnt want to waste anymore time waiting to post.


    If paused around the 0:01 mark, it can be seen that the bar is clearly not straight.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2021
    Posts
    8

    Default

    I think I figured it out.

    When I go under the bar, the cue in my head is "find the spine of the scapula, and move slightly below it".
    As I go forward, my less flexible left shoulder can't allow the bar to move forward after a point. Since the left shoulder doesnt "retreat", it becomes a point of rotation, and my whole body rotates to make the bar go where it should, making the right shoulder move forward.
    Essentially since I cant move on the right position linearly, I rotate my body to make sure that the bar sits roughly on the scapula, which in the moment feels right to me.

    If that is whats happening, allowing the left shoulder to move back would fix this.
    I dont know how I would do that, advice?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    North Texas
    Posts
    53,562

    Default

    Your grip is MUCH too wide. This will aggravate your elbows. There are lots of videos on the website about how to fix this.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2021
    Posts
    8

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe View Post
    Your grip is MUCH too wide. This will aggravate your elbows. There are lots of videos on the website about how to fix this.
    Mark I appreciate your reply, will get to it asap. I assume that would also fix the bar not being straight on my shoulders?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2021
    Posts
    8

    Default

    starting strength coach development program
    After a few months of trying, I simply can't solve this. My grip is tighter, yet shoulders are still unequal. I still get some lingering pain on the same spot when the weight approaches 80kg.

    What should I do? Work with a SS coach?

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