Shoulder pain from squatting?

[Touch_the_Wind]

i was squatting yesterday and i started feeling this weird pain in my right shoulder. I think that it has something to do with how i held the bar...

If you feel your collor bone as it joins into your shoulder, there should be some sorta "pointy thing", the pain is right around that area.

http://www.aidmyrotatorcuff.com/_img/shoulderbones.jpg

its around where the clavicle and the acromion join.

i dont feel any pain when i do any other movements.
But when i take a broomstick handle and hold it across my shoulders in my squat from, i can feel it.

Am i holding the bar wrong? Or am i just too scrawny?

btw, i was only squatting 135 lbs.....but thats more than my bodyweight for me.

[anfeyd]

It is probably how you hold the bar. Eric Cressy at T-nation (atleast I think thats who the shoulder guy is) says that the back squat position can cause problems.

[chicanerous]

Maybe impingement. How close was your grip?

[VerdinxJon]

well heres the thing you might have weak shoulder muscles it was prolly the bones around the glenoin cavity I had problems like that with diff exersizes you just need to strengthen your shoulders more.

[Touch_the_Wind]

Maybe impingement. How close was your grip?

hard to describe......wider than shoulder width, but also not "too" wide...

well heres the thing you might have weak shoulder muscles it was prolly the bones around the glenoin cavity I had problems like that with diff exersizes you just need to strengthen your shoulders more.

im very scrawny, pretty much anywhere i rest the bar it will be on some sorta bone...mabye your right.

Also, since the bar is supposed to rest on the "shelf" created by the traps, maby my traps are too small/weak?

[tricker_d]

You can use padding on the bar?

[Touch_the_Wind]

i dont really want to use padding...i think that since its only in my right shoulder im holding the bar wrong.

[Final Prophecy]

Your bar is resting on your shoulder bones, not that above mentioned gap.

It should be resting on muscle...even if you don't have strong traps, you can still get the right place.


I'm scrawny as SHIT and I dont have problems with squatting...can get easily over 200lbs

[Final Prophecy]

Okay heres some *legit* advice that you should listen to:

Don't be afraid to go back to basics. Hell, start with a broomstick. Get in the regular back squat position with the broomstick and just practice where the bar fits best on your backal shoulders. Then, try it with just the 45lb bar. That should be light enough for you to readjust the weight while its still on your back, and enough weight for you to actually feel it at the same time.

Have you even tried doing a couple of warm-up sets with just the bar? Some of the strongest lifters I know get a set of 12 in with the really light 45 lb bar, doing it slow to get the technique down before they add weight.

[chicanerous]

hard to describe......wider than shoulder width, but also not "too" wide...

Also, since the bar is supposed to rest on the "shelf" created by the traps, maby my traps are too small/weak?
Make sure you're retracting your scapula fully (squeezing your shoulder blades together) and pinning your elbows to your sides. Don't let the elbows splay out or float out behind you. This will ensure what traps you do have are up and creating the proper shelf. Make sure the bar is resting on that meat.

As you squat, don't push up on the bar with your hands -- pull down slightly with your hands. This will help you drive the body "into" the bar with the legs, not with the arms, and take the focus off the shoulders, which will contract when you're pushing up, aggravating any problem you may have with them.

If you're doing that and you still have pain, try widening your grip slightly.

[Touch_the_Wind]

i think i realizd what iwas doing wrong.
instead of doing the things that are in the above post, i was pushing up on the bar with my shoulders.

[anfeyd]

Yea that's probably where the pain came from. Elbow tendinitis can also come from using your hands to hold the bar up.

[Ashtar]

Until you figure out what the problem is do front squat instead for a while.

[anfeyd]

How can he figure out the problem unless he tries back squatting with an adjusted grip?

[Gusch]

Maybe you didn't notice, but that advice came from Ashtar. No need to reply.
Just ignore it.

[Ashtar]

Actually it's fine advice, he should still try correcting the problem, however all the while he's messing around with broomsticks like everyone's telling him to until he fixes the back squat pain, he can keep up the workload with frontsquats.

Yeah, my advise is controversial and destructive.

[Gusch]

I'm just replying so he won't get it wrong:
front squats hurt more (due to pressure of the weight) than back squats, if you don't have much muscles.
Also, front squats must be learned as well. Someone who can't do proper back squats can't just walk into the gym and do front squats with high intensity while maintaining good form. Front Squats aren't as easy as many people on the internet make them, if you want to maintain proper form. Even though the weight will fall down if you buckle FAR too much, you can still buckle during a front squat, which is never good.
And let's be honest. Front squats are, in fact, more uncomfortable for most people.

My advice: go into the gym and practice front, back and overhead squats simultaneously with low to moderate weight.
Have someone to at least check whether you have a proper lordosis . Even people who can't squat will be able to tell at least this much.
Better: film yourself and put it up here, if you don't have an experienced trainer.

[Ashtar]

Those are good points, he could end up with pain in the front squat too. It shoulded like the shoulder pain in back squat was around the bones that connect to his scapula, so something to do with bringing the shoulders back. Trying different moves isn't necessarily a replacement, it could also give feedback as to what's hurt.