Long time lurker first time poster looking for some advice. Will try my best to be concise.
31yo have struggled with varying levels of shoulder pain for most of my adult life and have been consistent in the weight room since high school. Almost 9 years ago I finally bit the bullet and went to a shoulder specialist well known in the area for his work with professional sports teams. During a brief screening session the team was convinced nothing was wrong beyond some basic tightness/flexibility issues as my ROM has always been pretty good. At this time I was very into KStar, Cressey, Boyle, etc. and communicated to them that I tried every “mobility” trick under the sun so they finally caved and gave me an MRI.
The result (to their surprise…) was what he described as a “minor labrum tear” in the shoulder. They hypothesized it was something that likely happened playing football/sports in my younger years. There was no “specific event” I could recall. My memory is a bit fuzzy but one thing I remember vividly was how short he was with me: Get surgery. It’s not going to get better without it.
I ended up getting a second opinion who essentially conveyed the opposite. As I had relatively full ROM, could bench, squat, press etc. RELATIVLEY pain free, don’t get surgery… so I didn’t.
FF 9ish years later and here I am. Some weeks/months are better than others. Some weeks/months the pain can be brutal (particular at night and in the morning upon waking) and some weeks/months I feel as if I have absolutely zero pain even during phases of high intensity/volume.
A couple of months ago I must have done something during training (again… no specific incident I can recall) and these past few months have been pretty painful. What’s interesting to me though… is that DURING bench press, or squat, or shoulder press, I don’t really experience all that much discomfort. Sure some days are better than others and in the RARE case it really limits my ability to bench or something I will adjust accordingly… but for the most part this is something that bothers me OUTSIDE of the gym. Pain in various locations too, sometimes in the neck area, sometimes behind the shoulder, sometimes in the pec area, sometimes in the upper arm area. Evenings and mornings in particular lately. Sleep has been negatively affected these past couple of months too. But just yesterday I felt as if my shoulder was 100% healthy and pain free again.
I guess I am just looking for some suggestions. Is it time to go revisit a specialist? Or should I just “deal with it” as my lifts still progress and I am able to do everything with full ROM?
Hey @jurkewerk - thanks for sharing your story and the questions. Ultimately if you are worried about this experience, then I recommend a consultation. We’d be happy to consult with you to talk through your particular situation and experience. If you are interested, please complete our intake paperwork HERE. We did a multi-part shoulder series starting HERE, part 2 and part 3 really dive into labrum findings.
Also, check out our article on these experiences with activity HERE for general advice.