It’s time on your favourite energy class and also you’re pumped for it. First transfer on the docket? Overhead presses. You’ve received this, you inform your self. However as quickly as you carry your dumbbells skyward, a pointy twinge shoots by your shoulder, stopping you in your tracks.

Although definitely disagreeable, having shoulder ache or discomfort whereas lifting weights is pretty frequent, bodily therapist Maria Borg, PT, CSCS, supervisor at UCHealth Sports activities Bodily Remedy in Colorado, tells SELF. And there are a number of the explanation why this could occur.

However backside line? Experiencing shoulder ache throughout train doesn’t imply you have to hand over energy coaching altogether. The truth is, there are many small issues you are able to do to make weight lifting extra gratifying for delicate shoulders—and we’ve received all that necessary intel proper right here.

Forward, every part you have to learn about shoulder ache and weight lifting, in addition to what you are able to do to maintain it at bay.

What causes shoulder ache whereas weight lifting?

There are a number of causes you could really feel shoulder ache or discomfort whereas energy coaching. However maybe two of the most typical culprits are instability and weak point in your shoulder and surrounding areas, Kellen Scantlebury, DPT, CSCS, founding father of Match Membership NY, tells SELF.

First, a short anatomy refresher: Your shoulder is a ball and socket joint, and the muscle groups of your shoulder are surrounded by tendons (which connect the muscle groups to bone) and bursae (fluid-filled sacs that assist cut back friction, form of like your physique’s personal private lube). Bursae are discovered on all the key joint junctions—hips and knees too.

The shoulder joint is probably the most cell one in your physique. “So with that comes inherent instability,” which may result in ache, Scantlebury explains.

Weak point, significantly within the rotator cuff, can play a task as properly—and never only for baseball pitchers, who typically injure this space with the repetitive throwing movement. The rotator cuff is made up of 4 totally different muscle groups that perform to maintain the shoulder in its correct place. If these muscle groups aren’t sturdy sufficient, then your shoulder could also be sitting in a less-than-ideal placement. Then, whenever you transfer your shoulder, significantly overhead, you’ll be able to expertise discomfort, Scantlebury says.

Borg explains it this manner: The shoulder is a ball and socket joint that’s speculated to roll and glide as you progress your arm to shoulder top, above your head, or whereas lifting your arm away out of your physique. However when you will have rotator cuff syndrome (principally, any damage or situation that impacts the rotator cuff), the rotator cuff muscle groups aren’t doing their job to maintain the ball within the socket. As an alternative of the shoulder rolling and gliding whenever you increase your arm, the ball of the joint will press the smooth tissues of the rotator cuff tendons and bursae between the ball and the highest of the shoulder blade. That, in flip, can create ache and discomfort.

Points stabilizing your scapula, or your shoulder blade, may also contribute to shoulder ache, because the stabilizing muscle groups on the bottom of your shoulder help with correct positioning of the joint. When these stabilizers aren’t functioning optimally, you’ll be able to have increased danger of points like shoulder impingement (frequent in swimmers, when the highest of your shoulder blade rubs in opposition to your rotator cuff), tendinitis (when your tendons get infected or irritated), and bursitis (when your bursae will get infected or irritated)—all of which may result in shoulder ache.