Severe Shoulder Pain Squatting (Left Only)

[S3reneTurmoil]

- Age: 23
Gender:Male
Current training status: Seriously for about 2 months

- Chief Complaint: Left shoulder soreness extending to elbow

- Narrative describing the mechanism of injury: Um...while squatting!!

- Pain (on a scale of 1-10) Not crippling, but enough to prevent further sets so 7
- Describe the pain (burning, shooting, aching, deep, sharp): Pinching/sharpness
- What makes it better? Not squatting
- What makes it worse? Squatting
- How do your symptoms behave throughout the day? Fade within a few hours

- Signs and Symptoms (describe what the area looks like....swelling, bruising, etc.) and describe briefly what you can or can't do as a result of the injury

This video was taken on wednesday. I got through 1 workset at 195 and cancelled the rest of my workout after I couldn't press 1 rep of my standard progression. Today I focused on keeping my upper back as tight as possible, and it felt better; however, I could only do 2 worksets at 195 and failed on my first rep of my 3rd warmup set of bench.


Video:

I have watched this video http://startingstrength.com/index.ph...t_bar_position about 3 times

and have reread the starting strength chapter on squatting twice over. I'm really at wits end as to the problem, since it's now preventing me from progressing on my other lifts.

[Gunnhild Bruno]

I have watched this video http://startingstrength.com/index.ph...t_bar_position about 3 times

and have reread the starting strength chapter on squatting twice over. I'm really at wits end as to the problem, since it's now preventing me from progressing on my other lifts.

The bar is way too low. Watch and read again.

There are other issues with your form, but fixing the bar position will fix a lot of those. The remaining ones should be fixed by bringing in your stance a little bit and keeping your knees out better.

Post another form check after you address these so we can fix any remaining problems.

[Tom Campitelli]

The bar is way too low. Watch and read again.

Agreed. No wonder your shoulder is in pain.

[S3reneTurmoil]

The bar is way too low. Watch and read again.

There are other issues with your form, but fixing the bar position will fix a lot of those. The remaining ones should be fixed by bringing in your stance a little bit and keeping your knees out better.

Post another form check after you address these so we can fix any remaining problems.

I hesitated to post this, since the first video captures my back a lot more, but here is the video from today. I concentrated on keeping the bar just below the spine of the scapula, and was able to get through 2 worksets of 195 this being the second. I think an issue was not tightening my muscles enough on my left side allowing the bar to rest on bone and not muscle. I was still in enough discomfort/lacking strength to fail my 3rd warmup set of benches though.

It's a lot less "good morningish" and on monday I will focus on my foot width and knees more.



Edit: and even if the bar is too low I still cannot explain why only one shoulder is sore

[Gunnhild Bruno]

I hesitated to post this, since the first video captures my back a lot more, but here is the video from today. I concentrated on keeping the bar just below the spine of the scapula, and was able to get through 2 worksets of 195 this being the second. I think an issue was not tightening my muscles enough on my left side allowing the bar to rest on bone and not muscle. I was still in enough discomfort/lacking strength to fail my 3rd warmup set of benches though.

It's a lot less "good morningish" and on monday I will focus on my foot width and knees more.

This is a bad angle to judge bar placement, but I'm pretty sure it's still too low. Look at yourself. You can't even stand up straight with the bar placed where it is. Not only are you way too bent over at the top, but you're hunching your thoracic spine in order to balance the bar's weight.

Edit: and even if the bar is too low I still cannot explain why only one shoulder is sore

Because sometimes the body is just like this. Not everything happens totally symmetrically.

If I were you, I wouldn't wait for the still-good shoulder to get messed up, too, before admitting that there is a problem with bar placement.

Realize that, after you correct your bar placement, your shoulder may continue to hurt for days or even weeks during squatting. Depends on how much injury you did to yourself. So the sooner you fix it, the better for your training.

[Corrie]

Listen to spar on this one.

You should be able to stand up straight and tall with 90%+ of your 5rm on your back without feeling any pressure on your wrists or elbows. When you get it you will know it because it feels like the bar is so much lighter because it's resting comfortably on your upper back muscles.

I had a squat like you when I first started. I had to lean over just to keep it from rolling off my back. I had pretty bad tendonitis until I learned to get the bar in the right spot.

[Gunnhild Bruno]

Listen to spar on this one.

Forget me. Listen to TomC, who helps Rip coach at seminars and holds his own training camps.

[S3reneTurmoil]

Okay, I tried to take all the advice contained in this thread, but please understand it's hard to incorporate significant changes in one work day. I decided to miss 2 workdays (first I ever have in 2 months) to allow my shoulder to heal. Onto squatting...

Changes made

1. I absolutely made sure I was able to stand vertically
2. The bar placement is significantly higher
3. Widened my grip by about 1 finger width on each side
4. Pinched my neck back (I think a HUUUGE issue was not having a neutral spine)
5. My feet are narrower, and the combination of changes actually messed with my balance a little.

Vid time:


pics for the lazy: note how my hips were hinged forward due to the fact the bar was so low, my moment arm had to compensate

old form vertical:

old form in the hole:

note: I self corrected my neck position between first and second rep. I made 100% sure I was able to stand vertical (I can probably even be slightly more so but my back angle at vertical is severely more straight today)

new form vertical:


outcome: minimal shoulder pain

issues: my knees with a narrower stance had a much higher tendency to cave in, I'll work to correct this next time.

[S3reneTurmoil]

There was a limit to 4 images per post, so here is my new form in the hole

[IMG]new form in the hole: [/IMG]

Thank you guys for all the help. I think it made a difference, and my form is SIGNIFICANTLY improved albeit nowhere near perfect.

Coming out of the hole, I think the bar had the tendency to move slightly up. The possibilities in my mind are

1. Neck/traps not pinched tight enough
2. Bar being SLIGHTLY too high

thoughts on these?