It was my last rep on my last set. Right at the bottom, I heard (or felt, I can’t recall) a pop. I finished the rep, but the pain increased after the workout and was the same this morning when I woke up. It is tender right where my collar bone meets my arm bone on the front of the shoulder. I have the full range of motion, but most non-neutral positions cause pain. It also seems inflamed. I would say the pain was a 2-3 when it happened and has held steady at a 5-6. 0 if I keep it in a completely neutral position. This morning I took some pain meds (ibuprofen and 2.5 mg of oxycodone - the only stuff I have left over from wisdom teeth extractions), and I genetically have loose joints if that’s relevant.
Obviously, I am frustrated and want to be able to keep benching and pressing, but I also don’t want to be an idiot. Do you guys have any advice on what to do? Should I get an MRI (It would be a hassle but I can if need be)? Should I refrain from benching until the pain is completely gone? What about pressing? I’ll get a form check when I can so this won’t happen again, but does it sound like this was obviously a specific form fault?
Any advice from you guys would be great. I really appreciate the forum.
James,
Thanks for the post and sorry to hear about your shoulder.
It is difficult to diagnose over the internet, but with the new onset of symptoms including pain requiring narcotics (which I wouldn’t recommend) and potentially weakness absent of previous symptoms (e.g. this is new, never had it before) - I would recommend evaluation by a doctor in person. Main things we’re looking for is an acute injury, which will likely require imaging -initially an xray and then later an MRI with referral to ortho if your physical exam and presentation warrant this.
So, I would recommend being evaluated by a physician and not taking pain medications at this time.
Thanks for the response, I really appreciate it.
I’ll drop the narcotics (the pain is decreasing anyways), and make an appointment. It’ll take me a while to get imaging though (I’m in Belgium and getting an X-ray takes weeks unless you go to the emergency room).
In the meantime do you have any recommendations for training? I saw your video on injuries on youtube after which I pressed without any aggravation (had to adjust my squat grip though). Is this foolish of me? Also, if the pain goes away do you think it would be okay to start benching again even prior to getting examined?
Hope that’s not too many questions. Thanks for all the info you put out there, I have learned a lot from you and Dr. Baraki
If you can press comfortably, go for it. If things resolve and you want to try benching the empty bar to test things out, that sounds reasonable as well.
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