5 Reasons Your Shoulder Pain Won't Go Away

Shoulder injuries are one of the top issues we work with at Platinum Training 

Life can be very frustrating when you are in constant pain that prevents you from doing daily activities 

This post is not to directly get rid of your pain, but to help you understand why the things you have been doing aren't helping like you expect 

1. You are repetitively doing things that flare up your pain 

Playing catch with your kid, carrying heavy things, bench pressing... Doctors love giving the advice of "stop" for a few months until your pain goes away. The problem with this is first, the pain will likely return. Ignoring a problem is not fixing a problem. Second, the whole point of the work we do is to allow you to continue doing all the things you love, not to quit doing them. 

However, there is a big difference between taking a temporary step back and completely quitting. Sometimes a short break is necessary to allow your body to properly heal.

      2. You only stretch because it feels "tight"

Tightness can be a symptom of weakness. If you have weakness in your rotator cuff, no amount of stretching will build the strength your shoulder really needs and wants. Most people do not strength train, by default this leads to lots of weakness and tightness. Next time your shoulder feels tight, try some strength exercises like an external rotation or row instead of stretching. 

     3. Muscle imbalances 

Every muscle in our body has a job to do. If a muscle lacks the amount of strength it needs to do its job, other muscles will try and take over. This is known as compensation, and when a muscle isn't doing its job like it should, compensation typically causes pain. In the shoulder joint, one of the most common compensations we see is with the trapezius muscles. The upper traps tend to be stronger and tighter in many people due to poor posture. The middle and low traps become very weak and this imbalance often leads to chronic neck and shoulder pain.  

If you notice certain muscles feel very weak or if you notice differences between your right and left side, there is a good chance you have some sort of muscle imbalance that needs to be addressed. 

     4. Joint tightness 

Lacking proper mobility can hinder how free and comfortable our body can move. Limited mobility can also create tightness and restriction. This can be from tight muscles, fascia, tendons/ligaments, capsule restrictions, or many different combinations of these tissues.

Stretching alone is rarely the complete fix. Rather stretching should be apart of your overall routine to help clear your tightness.  

Tightness can come from muscles, tendons & ligaments, cartilage and fascia. Depending on your situation these will require different approaches to fix. 

     5. Pinched nerve 

Nerves originate from our spinal column and branch throughout our entire body. Nerves are what give us feeling and sensation. If a nerve or nerve root become compressed by a vertebrae, this can lead to severe pain, numbness and discomfort.  

Pinched nerves often respond well to traction, nerve glides, and distractions, which is essentially a pull that creates space for your nerve to breathe and move properly. 

Common examples of this are sciatica or scapula winging. When the sciatic nerve becomes compressed it can lead to lots of pain or numbness in your low back all the way down your leg. Scapula winging affects the long thoracic nerve. This can lead to lots of shoulder and neck pain, and abnormal tracking of your shoulder blade around the ribcage. 

There are many different reasons your body feels pain. There is no one size fits all. There is not one single stretch or exercise that will magically fix your problems unlike what lots of people on social media say. 

If you are dealing with pain and aren't sure why or what to do about it,

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