Shoulder pain or any bodily pain shouldn’t be something you immediately dismiss as being something minor. In fact, it’s good to be aware of what you feel is normal in your body and what isn’t, particularly when you’re working out.
Many people will often dismiss shoulder pain as a bad night’s sleep or simple gym fatigue. However, the shoulder is one that relies heavily on delicate soft tissues rather than deep bone sockets for stability.
It’s good to be aware of those early indicators of minor strains because if they’re ignored, then they can result in chronic and lifelong issues.
Noticing the difference between normal muscle fatigue and structural joint distress is vital for protecting your mobility and the health of your body as you age. With that in mind, here are some of the common signs you shouldn’t ignore when your shoulder starts hurting.
- Pain That Radiates Down the Arm
An ache or shooting sensation travelling towards the bicep, elbow or forearm can often be something that indicates a serious problem, rather than just minor strain. It’s also something that can be hard to ignore and won’t be your usual pain felt when you’re working out.
Rotator cuff tendonitis or a pinched nerve in the neck or shoulder can prove complex, so it’s good to know what options are available when it comes to recovery, with a shoulder brace for rotator cuff injury being one example.
Localised muscle soreness will stay in the muscle and radiate pain signals or cause severe tendon irritation. The best thing to do when this is experienced is not to strain it any further, wear a brace and also seek medical advice to help with recovery and pain management.
- A Deep, Throbbing Ache That Wakes You Up
A deep and throbbing ache that wakes you up is definitely one that shouldn’t be ignored, and in fact, it’s very difficult to ignore when you’re constantly being woken up.
If you’re struggling to find a comfortable sleeping position or waking up when rolling onto your shoulder will often be caused by structural inflammation like bursitis. That swelling under gravity and pressure when lying flat can result in fairly intense pain.
When it comes to deep and throbbing aches, they can often fade with rest when they’re due to true muscular soreness. Structural injuries throbbing at night will demand more immediate attention on your part. Don’t just believe it will get better by itself, because it’s unlikely that it will.
- Weakness When Reaching Overhead or Behind Your
Struggling to grab something from a high shelf or generally reaching around can be worrying. That weakness when reaching overhead or behind your back is often caused by partial or full-thickness rotator cuff tears.
It prevents the muscle from generating leverage. True weakness is a structural failure and is completely different to something minor like a tightness of a stiff muscle. That’s why it’s something you’ll want to get addressed by a health professional who can look into the injury in more detail.
- Audible Pop, Snap, or Constant Grinding
Audible sounds are never a good sign, but a lot of people often dismiss these as being sounds that come with ageing, like groaning every time you get up from the floor or from a low sofa/chair.
Hearing or feeling a distinct mechanical ‘catch’ during simple movement arcs is caused by labral tears, severe tendon fraying and loose cartilage that disrupt the smooth gliding of the joint.
If the joint sounds or feels like grinding gears, then this is where tissue damage can be actively occurring, and that can be a problem for long-lasting injuries.
- Pain That Doesn’t Improve After 48–72 Hours of Rest
Minor muscle strain and pain will often resolve themselves within 48-72 hours of rest. Depending on the severity of your workout and how much you’ve overworked the muscles will vary, but if you’re experiencing the same amount of pain after those 72 hours are up, you’ll likely want to get it checked out.
That persistent pain despite pausing exercise, applying ice and taking over-the-counter anti-inflammatories is only something you should be doing for a limited time for the pain to diminish.
The cause of this problem is often down to chronic impingement or micro-tearing that is not able to heal without the help of behavioural modifications or physical therapy.
That delayed onset muscle soreness peaks and fades quickly, but structural pain will linger indefinitely.
- Sudden Stiffness or Loss of Passive Range of Motion
It can be a little worrying when you experience sudden stiffness or a loss of passive range of motion in your body.
When a joint physically jams, it prevents you from raising your arm, even if you’re able to use the other hand to assist. The cause of this is one that comes from adhesive capsulitis – otherwise known as a frozen shoulder.
It can cause severe joint capsule inflammation, and that loss of passive mobility will result in further thickening of the joint capsule, which ultimately locks down.
- Visible Swelling or a Change in Joint Shape
Visible swelling or a change in the joint shape is a clear sign that something isn’t right. A painful shoulder will look rounded, dropped or noticeably different when you’re looking in the mirror.
Severe joint effusion (fluid buildup) or a partial dislocation/seperation of the AC joint is what can cause this to happen.
It’s one of the signs that requires immediate evaluation by a medical professional.
Initial Steps: What to Do Next
The next steps when it comes to dealing with shoulder pain are to implement rest to begin with. When this is not working to help heal the shoulder, you’ll want to get help from professionals who can dig deeper into the problem.
Early intervention will drastically cut down the recovery time you experience. Be aware of the symptoms you’re experiencing and take action depending on the severity of the symptoms and pain. Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away, even if it’s minor.