I’ve had this issue for as long as I can remember and the pain always eventually subsides so I just deal with it and have never asked a doctor about it. Still, the pain can be pretty intense and I’d be interested to know if you guys have any ideas on what causes it. Without fail, about one or two days following pulldowns or chins I will have an intense muscular pain develop in one (or both) of my shoulder blade/trap areas. The pain is about 3 to 6 inches down from the upper trap. It can develop on either side or both sides at once. I will use a LaCrosse ball to rub the area(s) but I don’t think it helps it go away quicker, it just feels good to massage it. It makes laying the side of my head on the pillow at night painful too. Any ideas on what the heck causes this? When I do pulldowns or chins I use what I believe is just a regular underhand grip with an average,comfortable distance between the hands. I do not have this issue with any other exercise including rows, deadlifts etc. If you need more info I’d be happy to provide it. Thanks for your time.
No idea, man – that’s pretty unusual. I’ve never experienced anything like this. Only thing I’d suggest is experimenting with the grip style and ROM on those exercises to see if it makes a difference.
I used to get this when I would lift my chin up to “reach over the bar”. Stopped happening when I would keep my chin tucked during the exercise.