I injured my shoulder years ago. I finally got an MRI Arthogram done this morning but can’t get into see the doctor to discuss results until Monday. The doctor that was injecting the contrast said that from the x-ray it looked like that it had been dislocated.
The original injury was from a motorcycle accident as a teenager. It happened again a few years and has happened a few times since then. It happens when my arm is above my head or behind my shoulder. It feels like the muscles are slipping or ‘popping out of place’. My shoulder occasionally pops when I move my arm as well.
I had just started training a few weeks ago when I injured it the most recent time. I was overhead pressing and have cut presses out until I know what I’m dealing with. I was able to swap out for bench presses until a few days ago. There had been a pain deep in the shoulder that hurt too much to train.
I have been able to continue to squat (though I’m struggling to get the bar low enough) and deadlift. The last deadlift did cause a twinge in my shoulder. It was so slight that I’m not sure if it is from my injury or just from the weight.
Is it ok to continue to train squats and deadlifts until I get my results? I would like to continue but I don’t want to cause more damage.
Thank you for any help.
We cannot tell you whether it’s “ok” to continue training via this forum.
I’m not sure how he could tell whether it had been dislocated in the past, unless you had evidence of a specific type of fracture or a labral tear (the latter of which could potentially explain your reported symptoms of instability). However, if it’s been years since the injury, unless you have very clear, reproducible symptoms of instability, it is unlikely that a surgeon would intervene – though that would require their in-person evaluation, of course.
I would also recommend you listen to our two podcasts on pain and injury management. I will also say that from a pain perspective, the “fear of causing more damage” that you describe itself can make your shoulder feel more sensitive and painful, so working on reducing your fear of movement is a very important step in this process.
Hi Austin,
Just a thought, but as this is coming up a lot on the forums, i think it’d be worthwhile making a sticky with the links to the podcasts, painscience.com, etc. Reckon?
Maybe you could even start a new Pain & Injury Management forum …
Cheers!
m