I have been having shoulder issues on the right for a couple of years now. It all started before I started lifting weights and doctors found out that I had neck osteoarthritis (C5) with an inversion of the normal neck curve. I will spare you all the details and post the results of different imaging exams. Note that I’m French, the reports are in French and so my translation can be inaccurate.
X-rays: nothing
ultrasound: small supraspinatus partial tear (to be confirmed by arthrogram)
arthrogram: nothing (invalidates the supraspinatus tear)
MRI: subscapularis tendinopathy without tear + « lame liquidienne de la bourse sub-acromio-deltoidienne » (= bursitis ?) (sorry I cannot really translate that…there is liquid from the insertion of the supraspinatus to the coracoacromial ligament)
Movements that cause pain (a couple of hours / day after):
chin / pull ups
full snatch with just the empty bar
push press (when I re-rack, I try to do it smoothly but it hurts sometimes)
jerks
incline bench press### Obviously, I have seldom done these movement over the last 2 years.
Neutral grip press / bench is completely pain free. Power snatch seems to be pain free as well and I have adequate flexibility to full snatch but stabilizing the bar in the descent is painful. Benching in itself is good: mild discomfort at the top but ok.
Various doctors, PT’s, chiros, etc. have been unhelpful (the last one tried to unstuck my scapula which did not move the way he wanted it to move)
So…I just don’t know how to deal with that and be pain free again.
Hey @limace31 , sorry to hear about the shoulder issue. Have you had a chance to read through our shoulder blogs? This would likely be very helpful in reframing some of the narratives you’ve been supplied. I also think it would be beneficial to consult with us so we can help guide the path with programming back to your desired activities.
Thus far, based on the information you’ve provided, there are no inherent concerns regarding the movements you listed as provocative for symptoms. The key would be to find tolerable loading to the area with tolerable symptoms.
Thanks for your reply. I read the articles: some great information but I feel that I am not equipped to put it into practice.
I still have some pain from last week (wk 4 of 3-d hypertrophy template) and I think it might have been caused by chin-ups or hanging leg raises (a lot of swinging for this one). It might also be the incline but it did not feel heavy so…I don’t know.
I am really careful with the loading / volume but some positions will always be painful. This is very frustrating to say the least.