Causes of Shoulder Pain
The shoulder is frequently subject to injury during weight training and this is often attributed to poor technique. If you experience shoulder pain while exercising, contact our Physiotherapy team.
The shoulder joint is prone to injury because by nature it sacrifices stability for mobility. In comparison with the hip joint, the shoulder has a very shallow socket for the ball joint of the arm. Therefore the surrounding muscles, “the rotator cuff”, are primarily responsible for stability.
In sporting activity, such as tennis and certain weight-bearing exercises, the shoulder complex must produce considerable force at the extremes of joint range placing the rotator cuff muscles under extreme stress. Often the cause of injury is the repetitive microtrauma rather than one particular incident (i.e. falling over). In such cases, clients often present without being able to explain why their shoulder is painful.
The neck or cervical spine can often be the source of shoulder and arm pain. Your posture may also contribute to you having a nagging pain in your shoulder that persists and is not improving with rest. If you find that this sounds like you:
- Check with gym staff/aerobics staff that you are performing exercises correctly.
- Have the injury evaluated by our physiotherapists