Shoulders hurt like a MF!

[powerbomb]

Lately my shoulders have been hurting me like a bastard, like they are tight as hell. They hurt when I do dips and lateral raises, and when I sleep too. Could it be a stretching issue or a growing issue? Its driving me nuts. Anybody else ever have this problem?

[Eric2]

What you have is inflamed bursitis. Usually do to high repetitive movements. There are sacks in the shoulder called bursa that are like cushions for the joint. When they become inflamed they take up space that would otherwise be used for the ligaments mobility. This tightness you feel is due to the lack of mobility in the joint.
   I had severe shoulder bursitis in my right shoulder due to prolonged bench pressing. I literally could not sleep right for several months. I was on high doses of ib profen for months. It finally got better but never back the same again.
   My advice to you is to lay off of the movements in the shoulder area for several weeks. If you continue you could pinch a tendon to the point of tearing and then require surgery.

[pumpster]

I've had that and agree with eric's assessment in regards to the type of injury. It happens from repeated exercise that puts stress on joints, ligaments and tendons. In this case the shoulder: rotator cuff, tendons and bursa. For certain people it's presses and shoulder-stressful exercises like laterals.

Basically you should lay off exercises that cause the pain, and if after you stop for a while the pain goes away, only go back to those exercises if you can find ways to avoid future problems. Higher reps and slight alterations in ROM and ROM speed can help, or the use of DBs instead of BB (more flexibily in ROM = less stress), machines, cables, etc. or just go with good alternative exercises and avoid those exercises altogether. I haven't done laterals for decades due to this.

Before getting to surgery, typically a cortisone shot can get rid of the pain incredibly well, make the shoulder good as new. However if you get rid of the pain and just go back to the same problem-causing exercises, the pain will probably return and be harder to cure in future. Bob Chic's a good example of a BB who hasn't done benches for ages due both to injury and the realization that other exercises can be more effective.

[powerbomb]

Thanks for the replies. It sounds more serious than I thought. I've been doing that 5x5 protocol with chest lately so your reasoning makes perfect sense. I would get into the second rep of a workout and the pain would just make me fail that fast. Looks like I'm gonna change things up in my workouts a bit.

 Thanks again.

[Emmortal]

There's an excellent exercise you can do to help with this, Doggcrap recommended for those having shoulder pain.  Basically you take a broom handle and place each hand at opposing ends palms down so it's resting against your waist/thighs.  Rotate it up over the top of your head and back down behind your back keeping your arms completely straight.  You should extend your hands as far out as it takes to keep your arms from bending through the movement.  Do this 3 times a week 40-50 reps and it should relieve   90% of your shoulder issues.  I've been doing it since I've had some shoulder injuries in the past and it's helped tremendously.

[pumpster]

Thanks for the replies. It sounds more serious than I thought. I've been doing that 5x5 protocol with chest lately so your reasoning makes perfect sense. I would get into the second rep of a workout and the pain would just make me fail that fast. Looks like I'm gonna change things up in my workouts a bit.

 Thanks again.

5 x 5 could also be part of the problem, as i said go with moderate or higher reps whenever there are joint problems so if you want something like that but without the irritation, after taking enough of a break from it to let the pain go away, try the same exercise with 8 x 8.

[pumpster]

There's an excellent exercise you can do to help with this, Doggcrap recommended for those having shoulder pain.  Basically you take a broom handle and place each hand at opposing ends palms down so it's resting against your waist/thighs.  Rotate it up over the top of your head and back down behind your back keeping your arms completely straight.  You should extend your hands as far out as it takes to keep your arms from bending through the movement.  Do this 3 times a week 40-50 reps and it should relieve   90% of your shoulder issues.  I've been doing it since I've had some shoulder injuries in the past and it's helped tremendously.

That might help for some things, and definitely won't for others, could even aggrevate the problem.