Getting frustrated, need to vent (kind of long winded)

[thinkBIG]

Well I just had to end a shoulder workout early because I started to feel some pain in my left shoulder. Pain in my shoulders is not anything remotely new to me though. Back in High School I was a pitcher for the team, and well basically through pitching and bench pressing very unwisely, I managed to strain my right rotator cuff (my pitching arm) to the point where I tore it my senior year, and missed the rest of the season. I couldn't even raise my right arm above 30 degrees from my body. Well I went to a physical therapist and got it rehabed pretty good, so I didn't have to get surgery. I did those over the summer and then went to college.

I started lifting a lot at college again and I was a dumbass and didn't really do much in the department of warming up and managed to hurt both my rotator cuffs through heavy benching. I'm not sure what I did to them, I don't think I tore them because it was never an intense pain like back in high school, and I have full range of movement, but I feel a lot of strain and discomfort in my shoulders when I bench.

I've been lifting probably 6 months now without being able to do bench press with the free weights or dips, which hurt my shoulders a lot as well. I have to use the damn pec dec machine and that other bench press machine. My chest is shit now compared to the rest of my body though, because I can still do other movements like squats thank god. I've been doing those RC exercises, but sometimes they even seem to cause a little discomfort in my shoulders. I can do shoulder work like military press fine as long as I keep it in a 10 rep range, but when I put more weight on for lower reps (like I tried today) I started to feel pain in my left shoulder, and was forced to end my workout and ice it. Should I bite the bullet and see a Dr.? To be honest, I think i've put it off this long because I'm afraid they're going to tell me to stop lifting...

To anyone who made it through that long winded rant, what would you do?

 

[jeremys]

how do you bench? try it with powerlifting form(elbows in, bring the bar lower on your chest/upper abs)

for chest, try dumbbell benching instead of flat bb benching. this has worked better for many that i know of with shoulder problems

 

[ROLGOR]

You should back off working the shoulder for a couple months and take about 500mg napracin "Aleve" bid. If it doesn't get better you will need to see the dr but I would not worry about being told not to lift permanetly. If you don't get it taken care of you are going to fuck it up for good. Better to not lift for a year now, need surgery ect than to keep ignoring it like you are doing and find yourself at 40 not able to lift 30# over your head. Good luck.

 

[thinkBIG]

You should back off working the shoulder for a couple months and take about 500mg napracin "Aleve" bid. If it doesn't get better you will need to see the dr but I would not worry about being told not to lift permanetly. If you don't get it taken care of you are going to fuck it up for good. Better to not lift for a year now, need surgery ect than to keep ignoring it like you are doing and find yourself at 40 not able to lift 30# over your head. Good luck.

Yeah I see what you're saying, I'm not really worried about the doc telling me I can't lift permanently, I mean, my shoulder doesn't feel THAT bad, but even if I took a year off, I seriously think I might enter a slight depression, is that normal? You guys know how it is when you catch the "weightlifting bug". I probably wouldn't go "too" insane taking a month or two off though.

 

[jeremys]

yes...there is a difference between a slight injury that you can work with and something that could screw everything up if not taken care of. get it checked out first, and whenever you lift, make sure you have good form..

 

[Exodus]

and besides, just because the doctor says you have to stop lifting doesnt mean you have too. always get a second or third opinion.

X

 

[coolcolj]

you need some ART

Active Release Therapy