Forums >Health and Nutrition>Ever injure your shoulder running?
Weirdest thing. Had a soccer game 1 week ago. Felt good that night. No injuries, no collisions, told my wife it was nice I was in better shape now and will no longer be sore in the mornings after soccer.
Then over night, my left shoulder started to hurt bad enough I that I had to take a couple ibuprofen. By morning my mobility with that arm was down to about 30% Hurt to do any lifting motion. I was thinking Uh Oh, did I tear/wreck something inside the shoulder? And how? Maybe by sprinting too fast, where the arms were pumping more than in a casual distance run.
Then after a couple days, the mobility increased. Back to 60%, then the next day, 80%, then 90%, and now today a week later back to about 98%. And the pain has decreased, and now gone away, unless I try for that final 2% of mobility (which I can actually do without too much pain).
My only guess is I hurt it running too fast, and it swelled. I didn't notice any swelling, but just suspect it was inflamed somewhere inside the shoulder, and that it caused the pain. As the swelling or inflamation went down, the pain decreased, and the range of motion I could do without the pain started to come back until now I'm pretty much back to normal.
Any thoughts on that? Ever experience something similar?
Note that the decreased mobility I experienced was proabably more about the pain. I didn't try to fight against it, didn't try to test how well the arm would work with severe pain, but instead just backed off whenever a certain range of motion hurt.
All the time. I believe there are two causes. The one relevant to you is tension while running, not letting your arms swing freely.
(The other is a poorly fitting or insufficient bra.)
Labrat
I was literally just at at Ortho for a shoulder issue, that mostly manifests when running.
Mine is tendonitis, which has become calcified, probably because I delayed getting it seen to.. Blindingly obvious on an X-ray. Got daily PT in my future for a while.
Shoulders are tricky, and a bit of inflammation can cause a lot of mobility loss. If it doesn't clear-up quickly its worth getting it checked out properly, or if it starts reoccurring.
5K 20:23 (Vdot 48.7) 9/9/17
10K 44:06 (Vdot 46.3) 3/11/17
HM 1:33:48 (Vdot 48.6) 11/11/17
FM 4:13:43 (Vdot 35.4) 3/4/18
yup, this'll be the root cause of my shoulder pain.
My leg won't stop mooing.
i think i've got a calf injury.
A co-worker of mine had these symptoms last year. He ended up getting a quadruple bypass in November. He is now back to exercising with no shoulder pain.
If I get to pick, I choose granite_running's explanation. And they are both relevant to my interests But I suspect the first part is the explanation.
Next time I'm going to try running more like Usain Bolt, all relaxed and having fun while being the world's fastest!
Thanks!
You should really see a doctor just to be sure:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/225053-how-to-know-if-left-arm-pain-is-heart-related/
Left arm pain that gets worse with activity and improves with rest should prompt immediate medical attention, as this may be a sign of heart disease -- especially if the pain is deep and the arm is not tender to the touch. Left arm pain that appears suddenly while at rest, such as when watching television, could also be due to an unstable heart condition. Finally, if the arm pain is accompanied by any combination of chest pain, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, passing out, shortness of breath, unusual sweating, abdominal bloating, cough or wheezing, seek medical attention immediately.
The past 2 days I've done 3 mile run and a 4 mile run. No increase in pain, actually no pain at all, as those arm movements were fine by then.
So I'm pretty sure it isn't heart related. Probably tensely trying to run as fast as I could, swinging the arms more, pumping them, had done it during a game. Didn't hurt at that moment, as it probably took a few hours to fully inflame, but then starting about 3 or 4 hours later it was a bear. Specifically in the shoulder joint area. Not the whole arm, not the chest, not anywhere else. Felt fine otherwise.
I'm only speculating that the injury happened during soccer running. The game itself was uneventful injury-wise and contact-wise. Then a drive home, then an hour of tv. No pain at all, that I can recall. Then getting ready for bed, the shoulder seemed a little sore. Then sometime soon after I fell asleep I coudn't stay asleep because the pain had increased and mobility was down. Couldn't hardly move the covers with that left arm. Only took the ibuprofen that night, and the next night so I could sleep better. Walking around during the day was no pain, unless I tried to lift the arm up. Then each day after the first couple days, the arm started to slowly get better. Lifting the arm was still the cause of the pain in the shoulder joint area, but each day I could lift a little farther without pain.
Now I can lift my arm all the way up, even lifting a water bottle (which I could not imagine doing a few days ago). It is only in comparison to my right arm that I notice my left is a little stiffer, a little more sore, when fully lifted up. The last remaining movement that is tough is up and back. For example, touching fingers to the back of my head is easy, because the elbow can stay foward some. But doing that and purposely trying to point the left elbow as far back as the right elbow can go is where I notice some remaning mobility and pain issue. Especially trying to lift the elbow up while poking it back. So, for example, if Dolph Lundgren was standing behind me to the right, I could use my right elbow to knock him in the chin. But if he was standing behind me to my left, it would hurt me to reach his chin with any force at all. If that helps to explain
I've had a less severe issue with this, only mine started while running and was only in my right shoulder. It was the result of a lack of oxygen to the area due to fast or prolonged running, a trainer told me, not unlike a side stitch. Mine went away after a few hours though.
As was previously stated, keep the arms loose.
It is now 9 days later, and I have the full range of movement ok. But for a strength test, getting back to push-ups, I started yesterday with just doing knee push-ups ("girl" push-ups, as they were called way back in gym class) to see how it was and to work those motions. Today I did one real push-up and noticed it was sore to do that, so followed up with 19 knee push-ups. I'll see how many real push-ups I can do without pain tomorrow tomorrow
Sorry about that OFS - I thought I remembered you identified yourself as male in another thread. Must have been thinking of someone else. Glad to hear you're feeling better.
After my first marathon, I felt soreness in my left shoulder. It was not too bad but I thought it was strange. My theory was the fact I was wearing my iPhone in an armstrap on my left arm, and just that weight over 26 miles of arm-swinging. In my second marathon, I did not have the phone; I carried my asthma inhaler in my left hand the entire race, but that hardly weighs anything. Again, shortly after the end my shoulder was sore. This time it was much more severe, felt almost dislocated or something. But didn't last long. Really weird. Never felt it during any training run or any other time (and these have been my only two marathons).
Dave
Granite_running, I am male. Just saying the other topic was within my interest, also. But yes, I bet you are right about being too tense in the shoulders and arms while trying to sprint. Much different than running distance where I relax competely.
I've got to relax more while playing soccer. It is more about the running and the excercise and the fun for me now at this point. I've nothing to prove during a game, but it isn't easy to keep it toned down