Ongoing anterior shoulder pain
April 27, 2021
I have forward shoulder/head posture and last year I decided to start with rowing. After 6 months of rowing, I started having sharp shoulder pain when I move my shoulder forward. My arm moves do not really hurt. It is just sticking the entire shoulder forward hurts like hell. The pain starts from the glenohumeral joint and goes to my chest under the collarbone.
I think I was rowing with bad forward shoulder position instead of keeping the shoulder blades together. I was wondering if you can tell what is happening in my shoulder when I move it forward, causing pain.
I have been reading about rotator cuff issues, bicep tendon problems and impingements but all are described by the pain with arm movements.
I really appreciate your opinion.
Thanks.
Alpkan
April 27, 2021
Hi Alpkan
Your rational sounds really plausible. This really sounds impingement related – bicipital, cuff, bursal or even labrum…that’s pretty much the full squad!
The what’s aren’t as important as the whys.
Stiff thoracic spine postures (common in rowers) cause poor shoulder blade motion and as a possible compensation you shove your shoulder forwards..meaning your posterior shoulder structures tighten to keep this forward movement – or vica versa.
The forwards movement pain is when your pinch/compress any of the above tissues. It might be between your coracoid and arm, acromium and shoulder or even your biceps being over used – not necessarily related to range of shoulder movement but more likely to be related to the amount of “play” in the joint.
There’s lots that can be done – and you don’t necessarily need to be scanned before, and if you really want to carry on rowing then it might be worth getting it checked out – rehab will be key.
The Guru
