shoulder pain while running?

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verhunzt
verhunzt Posts: 154 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi Mfpals! :#
I recently got more into running and noticed that after about 2-3km my shoulder(s) start hurting, A LOT. It's usually my left shoulder, occasionally the right one as well.
Has anyone of you experienced this as well? Could it be caused by a bad running form? Or just the lack of arm muscles?

It's driving me nuts, I usually continue running and just cling my left arm to my shorts, trying to hold it as still as possible, which usually helps. After about 5 minutes of not moving it the pain goes away, but when I start using my arm again it usually doesn't take long until my shoulder starts hurting again. :|

Replies

  • giorgioc722
    giorgioc722 Posts: 65 Member
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    Joint pain or muscle pain? Ever have tendinitis before? I had it in my IT band left leg and after that amount of time it would act up. Compression helped, ultimately I hurt it from being over active.

    Regardless you'll probably just be shooting in the dark trying to guess what it's caused by. Increasing strength in that area and helping it heal doesn't seem like a bad idea.

    Only during running? What about lifting or general day to day.
  • patrikc333
    patrikc333 Posts: 436 Member
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    same, especially during my fast runs

    very sharp and annoying pain, that then disappears

    it doesn't happen often luckily

    no idea what it is, it is more a nerve/joint pain though

    holding my shoulder for a couple of seconds makes me feel better

    I simply suck it up :smiley:
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    Could be strength related, or more likely you're tensing up when you run.

    Think about relaxing your upper body and just let your arms hang loosely. What I find can help, when I feel my shoulders hunch, is to take a deep belly breath and then let it out slowly. That forces the upper body to relax.

  • yusaku02
    yusaku02 Posts: 3,476 Member
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    I've had that in my left shoulder. Time was the only thing that helped it.
  • ActiveApril
    ActiveApril Posts: 73 Member
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    I get this occasionally while running, more often at the end of a long run when I start to feel tired. For me it's related to posture and/or tightening up my neck and shoulder muscles. If I make a conscious effort to relax my shoulders and neck I can usually head off any pain.
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
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    ActiveApril wrote: »
    I get this occasionally while running, more often at the end of a long run when I start to feel tired. For me it's related to posture and/or tightening up my neck and shoulder muscles. If I make a conscious effort to relax my shoulders and neck I can usually head off any pain.

    +1

    Relax everything while running. Keep the shoulders down and relaxed. Do NOT make fists and tighten up your arms. Arms swinging freely and relaxed like pendelems back and forth (arms bent at 90 degrees and kept low so your shoulders are relaxed). Nothing crosses over the front of your body (everything on the left side stays on left and everything on right side stays on the right). neck is straight up but relaxed (looking ahead like 50-70 meters).


    Small easy strides, slow pace (so you can keep a converation with a real or imaginary running partner out loud without breathing heavy). Hips are also straight (slight lean forward from your ankles).

    Also look up core workouts for runners. You may have weak hips and lower back muscles that could use strengthening. As you run, they get weak and you end up hunching over and tightening everything up.
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
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    I have a good friend who had shoulder pain whenever he exerted himself for any length of time. Saw a Dr and a Chiro, but no solutions. Turns out he had two fully blocked arteries and a couple partially blocked. Mild heart attack finally brought him in.
  • SuggaD
    SuggaD Posts: 1,369 Member
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    I've had this recently. It's tension and posture. If I relax, it goes away.
  • MlleKelly
    MlleKelly Posts: 356 Member
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    I get that sometimes too during my long runs. It happens when I tighten up, like I'm shrugging my shoulders up to my ears (usually accompanied by tight fists).

    Make sure you're keeping your shoulders down and back and that your back stays straight, not hunched forward or rounded. Let your arms swing naturally between hip and nipple height and never clench your fists!

    If my shoulders hurt while I'm running, it's because I'm doing at least one of those things.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,209 Member
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    goldthistime wrote: »
    I have a good friend who had shoulder pain whenever he exerted himself for any length of time. Saw a Dr and a Chiro, but no solutions. Turns out he had two fully blocked arteries and a couple partially blocked. Mild heart attack finally brought him in.

    The difference is the OP's pain goes away when holding the arm still while running. So unless she's slowing her pace then, it's probably not heart-related. An easy test to rule it out is to bike at the same heart rate and see if there's shoulder pain. :+1:

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