Shoulder Pain During Bench Press

[Brazensol]

During my 2nd rep of my 5th set of bench press I felt a pretty severe "tight" feeling across my upper left pec. Pain came about halfway thru the upward/pressing movement. Lot of pain in the shoulder too. None of the sets today felt "right" and just had a tight feeling in the shoulders. I know I should have warmed up even more but hindsight being what it is...

Seems the pec is ok (afraid I may have tore it but I think not) as I can flex it very hard an hour and a half after the injury and there is no pain at all there now. The shoulder on the other hand - still tight and hurts the most when I try to roll my shoulders forward. In many ways it almost feels like if I could just get it to "pop" it would be okay if you understand my meaning. I hope I haven't done anything major damage wise. I only had two more weeks to go before I was going to get at least a 3-4 week break while we moved to our new location. I guess now I might have another reason to run that tb-500 cycle.

I iced the shoulder for 25 minutes as soon as I got home. I left the gym withing 5 minutes of injuring it because I knew my day was over...

Any ideas as to what might I might have injured exactly?

[David LoPan]

Just a guess but it sounds like a probably shoulder issues. But torn pecks and triceps are common too. Could be a shoulder impingement or a torn rotator cuff. IMO shoulder issues are treated with RICE, Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. I would go ice on ice off for 20 to 30 minutes. If it is still hurting, so see an ortho doc. Then again it could be as simple as tendinitis or bursitis. There is really no way to know for sure with out having an x-ray or an MRI. I hope you just pulled something and a little rest and ice will solve the problem.

[Brazensol]

Well, after about two hours it is much better and I am beginning to think it is more an "alignment" issue more than an injury. I do have some shoulder issues so it could simply be that flairing up worse than it ever has before. I do know I have never felt thta particular pain there before. Getting old sucks arse sometimes... lol.

Looks like I need to find a good chiro again...

If it is still bothersome (more than the normal) next Wednesday I'll get it checked out since I have a doc appointment already scheduled.

[ac guy]

If you don't already do them, I highly recommend rotator exercises. I do 6 sets twice a week, high rep, low weight. I kid you not, they have changed my life as far as lifting goes. Not long ago I could do no overhead presses, or incline bench. I now do them virtually pain free. IMO they should be done whether your having pain or not. Wish I knew about them 20 yrs ago lol.

[ironbeck]

It sounds like to me you are very lucky my friend and good thing you left the gym. I believe you where on the verge of causing a tear, but luckily and wisely didnt push till it happened. Yes next time you go to the gym to do bench, warm up(10 min cardio) and stretch!!!! then do a couple extra warm up sets on bench at very light weight, then take your weight increments nice and easy and I believe you will be alright.

[bstacked]

Also if.u.try to.lift extra heavy while cutting your looking for.injury u life heavy when bulking cause of added water etc easier on.your.joints natural or.on.cycle same deal also could be how u.lift and angle what usualy pains me is.the.angle of incline.bench.I.fix that with.dumbells and adjust bench.one click.lower than.original incline

Also flat bench.when.going heavy is.good to.have.a spotter that.initial lift of and arm moving forward to align with chest and same thing.going.back.up that.little tweak when.heavy will do.damage.over time

[Max1911]

It sounds very similar to what I did on the bench except I heard a “pop” when I felt it. Shoulder pain after, the next day could not lift the arm and the shoulder drooped. I knew in my heart that something torn as soon as it happened…
It ended up being a labral tear and minor rotator cuff tear. I am one week out of surgery today.

If you’re still able to lift your arm now, I bet your ok….

I second the recommendation of ice and rotator exercises. I know I am now a believer.
Good luck

[Brazensol]

It sounds like to me you are very lucky my friend and good thing you left the gym. I believe you where on the verge of causing a tear, but luckily and wisely didnt push till it happened. Yes next time you go to the gym to do bench, warm up(10 min cardio) and stretch!!!! then do a couple extra warm up sets on bench at very light weight, then take your weight increments nice and easy and I believe you will be alright.

My first thought was exactly that; a tear. I did not warm up like normal. Lesson learned. This pain was unlike anything I've experienced before. It was more than just a sore joint but how much more I don't know.

As for leaving I had no choice. It felt that bad for a short time. Normally I play the idiot and try to work through it but not this time.

[Brazensol]

If you don't already do them, I highly recommend rotator exercises. I do 6 sets twice a week, high rep, low weight. I kid you not, they have changed my life as far as lifting goes. Not long ago I could do no overhead presses, or incline bench. I now do them virtually pain free. IMO they should be done whether your having pain or not. Wish I knew about them 20 yrs ago lol.

I'll do a search for these and give them a try. I already found some stretches to do. Many things we wished we knew back then that we are only now learning. Better late than never I suppose. What's a little pain after all. lol.

[Brazensol]

Also if.u.try to.lift extra heavy while cutting your looking for.injury u life heavy when bulking cause of added water etc easier on.your.joints natural or.on.cycle same deal also could be how u.lift and angle what usualy pains me is.the.angle of incline.bench.I.fix that with.dumbells and adjust bench.one click.lower than.original incline

Also flat bench.when.going heavy is.good to.have.a spotter that.initial lift of and arm moving forward to align with chest and same thing.going.back.up that.little tweak when.heavy will do.damage.over time

Those are very good points. I am cutting and maybe I need to drop the 5x5's (from all my routines) and go with the more traditional 8-12 reps range until time to bulk.

Luckily I do have a spotter - my 18 year old son. At least until he goes back to school. I absolutely use him to unrack the bar as that puts a lot of pressure on my shoulders. In fact during my 4th set I got out of alignment on the third rep and had to fight to get it back in balance and that may be (probably was) what set me up for injury on the 5th set.

[Brazensol]

It sounds very similar to what I did on the bench except I heard a “pop” when I felt it. Shoulder pain after, the next day could not lift the arm and the shoulder drooped. I knew in my heart that something torn as soon as it happened…
It ended up being a labral tear and minor rotator cuff tear. I am one week out of surgery today.

If you’re still able to lift your arm now, I bet your ok….

I second the recommendation of ice and rotator exercises. I know I am now a believer.
Good luck

Sorry to hear about your injury and hope it heals quickly. Might want to check into TB-500 to help in the healing process. At first I thought I had really done something bad but now, 7 hours later, though sore, my range of motion has just about returned back to normal. I can do pushups (nice and easy mind you) so, thankfully, it looks like I dodged a bullet today.

[Brazensol]

Thanks everyone for the tips and concern. Nice to know help is here just for the asking.

[Max1911]

Sorry to hear about your injury and hope it heals quickly. Might want to check into TB-500 to help in the healing process. At first I thought I had really done something bad but now, 7 hours later, though sore, my range of motion has just about returned back to normal. I can do pushups (nice and easy mind you) so, thankfully, it looks like I dodged a bullet today.

Thanks for the tip, I'll look into the TB-500... I would love a fast"er" rehab. Glad to hear your ok.

[Brazensol]

Update - While I can move my left arm/shoulder with little to no pain through their range of motion I do have a problem lifting things in front of me. For instance, I installed a bike rack on my truck yesterday and lifting my bike up onto the rack (about 4-1/2 feet off the ground) hurt like a bitch. If it was any worse I would not have been able to lift the bike and I needed help getting it back down - it was at my limit. What type of injury would cause this type of pain?

I can do laterals with a 10# dumbbell with no problem. Same for reverse (bent over) laterals. Front raises with the same weight cause some minor discomfort. I estimate my bike weighs around 50 pounds. The pain is most intense near the shoulder joint but does extend about half way across the upper pec.

[Brazensol]

Got through a back workout without much problem. Did the following; T-bar rows, one arm rows, wide grip pulldowns, seated rows and straight arm pulldowns. Was going to finish off with shrugs but that is when the pain started. Could not even shrug the empty rack. Does this help pinpoint what was injured during Tuesday's bench presses?

[bstacked]

Go lighter just workout for now to.maintain current muscle until.fully.healed u dont want this.injury.liguring or putting.u.out.compketly for.a.couple.months

[JinNtonic]

I tore something in my shoulder several years ago on heavy incline press. I couldn't bench for a couple years. Now I can but there is pain.