Busting 3 Popular Myths about Shoulder Pain in Athletes

Shoulders are important in any sport. Fortunately, shoulder joints have a wide range of motion. But this wide range of motion also makes shoulder joints unstable and highly dependent on the surrounding muscles.

Myth #1 – My shoulder feels weak, I must have torn the rotator cuff.

TRUTH – The rotator cuff is made up of four muscles in the shoulder and controls most upper arm motions.

Most athletes who suffer from shoulder weakness and pain, that develops gradually but there is no shoulder trauma, may not be due to a rotator cuff tear.

If you are an active athlete and your weak shoulder is not the result of a painful or traumatic incident, you may be suffering from a shoulder impingement. Shoulder impingements are common among athletes who climb, lift, crawl, and carry. Since a shoulder impingement shuts down the shoulder rotator cuff, it presents similar symptoms as a torn rotator cuff. your sports medicine orthopedic doctor can make an accurate diagnosis and recommend the right course of treatment.

Myth #2: For strong shoulders, I need overhead strength work.

TRUTH – Holding weights while lifting your arms above the horizontal shoulder level stresses the shoulder joint. This is why injury to the rotator cuff, muscles and tendons can be severe while performing a resisted upward overhead press.

This should not be a cause of concern for athletes like a Spartan racer who is constantly overhead on the ropes, rings and wall climbs, because for those obstacles, you’re pulling down rather than pushing up. The pulling down is easier for the shoulder than the potentially dangerous pushing upward exercises.

Myth #3: Chest muscles are the most important muscles to protect the shoulder

TRUTH – The chest muscles are extremely important for motions such as push-ups but the most important muscle group, to prevent shoulder injury, is the shoulder external rotators. These muscles facilitate rotation of the upper arm, outward, as in a tennis player’s backhand shot.

This muscle group controls the motion of the upper arm bone. So, weak external rotators wouldn’t be able to stop the humeral head from gliding upward too much and may cause shoulder impingement syndrome.

To have strong shoulders –

• Use upper body balance exercises, such as planks, to strengthen all shoulder muscles.
• Icing is a good way to relieve pain if your muscles, tendons, and ligaments have been working hard.
• Your shoulder bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments, are all connected to your trunk. So, do not forget to warm up your trunk before you play or workout.

To learn more about shoulder sports medicine treatments, call the top shoulder surgeon in Gilbert, AZ, call OSPI Arizona at 480-899-4333. OSPI’s Board Certified orthopedic surgeons have extensive experience and expertise in sports medicine, general orthopedics and joint replacement surgery.

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ospiarizona Joined: June 21st, 2018