Exercising with shoulder pain - yay or nay?

ejllewellyn85

Morning all!

The title sorta sums the question up really, should you exercise with shoulder pain? If so, which sorts of exercise are safe to perform without exacerbating it, & which are likely to make it worse & thus should be avoided?

My right shoulder blade region has been playing up for over a week now. Normally when something hurts it usually clears up between 24-48 hours later but this seems to be prolonged for whatever reason.

I haven't used my dumbbells at all since I noticed the pain & have been doing low-impact mainly cardio/recovery stuff, but I'm not sure if plank & plank variations, and push-ups etc. (basically anything involving bearing weight on my arms & shoulders) are a wise move? And should I continue avoiding the dumbbells until it's back to normal or is it OK to workout with really light ones, say 1kg, in the interim?

Anyway, I tried googling it but the answers were mixed. Some people advised exercising it as best as normal, others suggested exercising other areas until it's fully recovered. Which leaves me about as clueless as I was to start with! So if any of you lovely folk have any suggestions or personal experiences you'd care to share that would be much appreciated :-)

Willbenchforcupcakes

Shoulders are complicated somewhat delicate areas. If it's been hurting for a week, I'd be heading to a physio for an assessment as to what's actually going on.

I've done more to my shoulders than I care to remember, and any time they hurt I get it checked out. Depending on what's going on is what I still do, or just rest and rehab.

STEVE142142

Give you a little background. My orthopedist says I need a shoulder replacement. I still workout my shoulders but I modified the motion based on my range of motion and my pain tolerance for pain level that day. I also swim but once again I have a modified range of motion.

My suggestion to you is see an orthopedic surgeon who handles or specializes in shoulders he'll be able to give you a prognosis and how to approach it. Dr. Google does not know what they're talking about. As a previous poster said the shoulder is a highly complicated joint there's a lot of motion going on and you really need to see a doctor who has to evaluate it if your pain continues.

ninerbuff

Get an assessment. Then go from there.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

SingingSingleTracker

ninerbuff wrote: »

Get an assessment. Then go from there.

^^This. You can usually get a screening with a PT.

Tendonitis in the shoulder is super, super, duper common.

R.I.C.E. to heal it which will mean laying off the weights, but doing prescribed stretches/exercises.

Go to a PT and get evaluated. It's well worth it to know what you are dealing with.

Packerjohn

As stated above. Get to a medical professional and see what is going on.

pomegranatecloud

See an orthopedist and follow his or her instructions.

beautifulwarrior18

ejllewellyn85 wrote: »

Morning all!

The title sorta sums the question up really, should you exercise with shoulder pain? If so, which sorts of exercise are safe to perform without exacerbating it, & which are likely to make it worse & thus should be avoided?

My right shoulder blade region has been playing up for over a week now. Normally when something hurts it usually clears up between 24-48 hours later but this seems to be prolonged for whatever reason.

I haven't used my dumbbells at all since I noticed the pain & have been doing low-impact mainly cardio/recovery stuff, but I'm not sure if plank & plank variations, and push-ups etc. (basically anything involving bearing weight on my arms & shoulders) are a wise move? And should I continue avoiding the dumbbells until it's back to normal or is it OK to workout with really light ones, say 1kg, in the interim?

Anyway, I tried googling it but the answers were mixed. Some people advised exercising it as best as normal, others suggested exercising other areas until it's fully recovered. Which leaves me about as clueless as I was to start with! So if any of you lovely folk have any suggestions or personal experiences you'd care to share that would be much appreciated :-)

Depends on the type of pain, the intensity of the pain, and why the pain started. I have a lot of pain in my shoulder area for a few reasons. My posture is horrible, my pecs are not as open as they need to be causing my back and shoulders to over compensate, I have limited mobility in my shoulders and chest, my shoulder muscles are incredibly tight. If I'm in a lot of pain, I avoid a lot of shoulder exercises and go get a deep tissue massage. If they're bothering me a little, I do a lot of shoulder stretching, mobility, and use a lacrosse ball on the tender areas. However, I know my body well enough to know the my problem is mobility and muscle imbalance, it's not an injury.

If you don't know go see your doctor.

ArmyofAdrian

Nay. Rest for a couple weeks stretch every day. If still hurting see a physical therapist or doctor.

ejllewellyn85

Thanks all. I have made an appointment with the GP but it's another week away, as per usual with the NHS (oversubscribed, underfunded, la-di-da). Bearing in mind your collective wisdom I will just not do any exercise that causes pain in the interim, I do appreciate you all taking the time to reply.

It just seems funny/odd that it doesn't hurt at all during, say, cardio kickboxing yet when I do something simple & basic, such as peel a carrot or clean my teeth, I can really feel it :-/ That said, it was a little better yesterday I think so hopefully it won't be an overly protracted recovery (i.e. months) or permanent injury & will just need short-term adjustments, but time will tell.

Ta ta lovelies!

AsrarHussain

I would do some stretching and go to a physiotherapist

Raptor2763

Sometimes, the difference between pain and discomfort is blurred. Can't say i know the difference yet. I continued to exercise with what I THOUGHT was discomfort, about 9 months following my deployment, come to find out I tore my rotator cuff and labrum. Moral of the story - if it's just discomfort, then rest and recovery. If you're talking about genuine pain, then I'd suggest either a physical therapist OR (better still) an orthopedic specialist. Whatever you do, don't keep hitting that area and making a bad situation worse.

ejllewellyn85

Ta gentlemen.

Raptor2763 I can relate to that... Last year I was walking around on a fractured leg thinking it was just a sprain for 6 days... Until one day I woke up one morning & it had swollen to double it's normal size, all of a sudden I couldn't put any weight on it & felt sick from the pain. Oops! I have quite a high pain threshold so, like you say, it can be hard to tell. Am avoiding strength exercises at the moment which is a little frustrating, oh well, it gives me time to do other things that I've been neglecting... like reading... So it's not all doom & gloom! Hope you recover ASAP :-)

mamainthekitchen

I've torn a ligament in my shoulder years ago and I couldn't peel carrots either, ice & rest until your Drs appoint good luck!