Hello. I’m 40 and have recently gotten back into training. Today was my 6th time low bar squatting over a two week period. When setting up one of my squats, I went a bit too hard/awkward when setting up the grip, and felt something bad in my left shoulder. I did go on to complete my squats, bench press and deadlifts, chin ups, but I knew something was up with my shoulder. Now, 9 hours later it is still hurting and I expect this will linger for days, at best. Most pain is felt down the front.
I don’t have a history of shoulder problems, but I would consider them “weak”.
Is there anything I can be doing in the immediate short term to help recovery? Ice? Compression? How can I know if this is serious and should be looked at?
I had the exact same thing happen to me. It was diagnosed as a minor tear in my subscapularis muscle tendon. The doctor said too minor to do surgery. I have just not done low bar squats and 3 years later it does not hurt when I move my arm back behind me.
Surgery certainly is nowhere close to my radar at this point. I’m just a bit confused by all the advice out there. Should I be resting, applying ice and compression? Or should I be “working through it”, taking it through its full range of motion, etc…?
I think they would tell you that in the absence of trauma, rest is not advisable. Find an entry point where you can move without pain and a load that is tolerable and work up from there, slowly, while managing your expectations. Meaning that you may be experiencing pain, but that may not mean structural damage and that this may take time to “get better”. Take the small wins, day by day and remain optimistic
Sorry to hear about this. The principles and guidance laid out in this article would be appropriate in this situation: Pain in Training: What To Do?
Since this is a new-onset issue, the overwhelming odds are that it will improve with time and smart management of your training as outlined in the article above.