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Kettlebell Shoulder Pain?

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Nancy Moyers

Nancy Moyers

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Certified Instructor
I am new to this forum and am looking for some help! I am training for SFG1 cert next month and so far so good (its my first time!) Although, I notice when I pull my (right) lat down, the front of my right shoulder has pain. This has been going on for only a few weeks, and I don't feel it doing anything other than when I pull my lat down. My left one feels fine, and I am right handed. Every day activities are fine, snatches are fine, swings are fine. I just completed my very first snatch test last week with the 16kg, and experienced no pain. Maybe I'm overreacting and having anxiety for no reason, considering the cert is next month!! We will see, but any advice is welcomed :) Thank you!
 
Help me understand better. Your lats should be engaged during swings and snatches which actions you mentioned did not hurt. So, are you saying that the front of the shoulder hurts when you "pack your shoulder" to hold the kettlebell in the rack for a squat, and to prep for the overhead press? Also, does the shoulder hurt during the pressing movement itself?
 
The lat and the pec major both attach to the anterior proximal humerus, aka the front of the shoulder. Tightness to either of these muscles could cause some pain to the anterior shoulder with packing. If a little self massage and stretching of these does not resolve your problem, please go see a doctor or good PT.
Good luck with your cert!
 
try rolling the back of your shoulder with a ball or foam roller. Could be trigger point.
 
I had a shoulder tendinis when I prepared for the certification... You should see a doctor or a physiotherapist. That's what I've done... and I didn't regret. Every time I've tried self medication and every time I've tried to ignore a joint pain (and I tried many times !), I wasted my time.
I think you should not underestimate the pain. What could be fixed in a few days (and maybe faster, with a good physiotherapist, if it is a trigger point) could last a long time if you wait.
You don't overreact. The certification is a really good experience. Don't let a shoulder pain spoil the party !
 
Shoulders suck. I can 1 hand swing & tgu the 40kg and snatch the 24kg without issue. Even load up on dips, chins, incline, etc. But pressing a 16kg or even bottoms up pressing an 8kg will start aching around my right AC joint later that day. Last time I went to a doc for the shoulder, it started w/ a $450 MRI & ended with, "Can't see anything torn, what do you think?" I think I may just quit pressing...
 
Nancy,
As Steve F. noted - when you are having pain it is always a good idea to check with a healthcare provider (Dr., Chiro, Physical Therapist - if you are in a state with direct access etc....).

There were some good questions asked by others re: when does it hurt?

You could be just trying too hard to pull down on the shoulder.
Maybe Video of how/when it hurts?

Nate - Did the Dr. look at or mention what type acromion you have (Type I, II or III?)
there are many structural "uniquenesses" that can impact shoulder function
 
Brett Jones said:
Nancy,
As Steve F. noted - when you are having pain it is always a good idea to check with a healthcare provider (Dr., Chiro, Physical Therapist - if you are in a state with direct access etc....).

There were some good questions asked by others re: when does it hurt?

You could be just trying too hard to pull down on the shoulder.
Maybe Video of how/when it hurts?

Nate - Did the Dr. look at or mention what type acromion you have (Type I, II or III?)
there are many structural "uniquenesses" that can impact shoulder function
Click to expand...
No he didn't. I may try to check in & see if that info is available. Its only in my right (throwing) shoulder and only since I was overzealous about a year ago so I'm expecting its 40 years of wear & tear. Thanks, I'll look into the type!
 
No. I was hoping since nothing was torn, it'd heal on its own. I'm about a year into that hope...
 
I wasn't recommending surgery, but having that kind of specialist interpret your scan.

A year deep into hope is pretty deep...
 
offwidth said:
I wasn't recommending surgery, but having that kind of specialist interpret your scan.

A year deep into hope is pretty deep...
Click to expand...
More of a cost / benefit hesitance to pressing vs. other pushes... If something is wrong but I'm this functional, I'm not doing surgery for the press. Or Id hate to spend several hundred and end up the same. Or it may be something that can be rehabbed. I may look further... Thanks for the input though!
 
Quite a few muscleheads swear by this exercise:

HOW TO CURE SHOULDER PROBLEMS (Trust me this will do it 90% of the time) - IntenseMuscle.com

HOW TO CURE SHOULDER PROBLEMS (Trust me this will do it 90% of the time)
01-22-2005, 07:05 PM

With a large towel or broomstick I want you to hold it with straight arms for the entire time of what i describe in the following movement--a large "rolled up like a rope" beach towel works good but honestly a longer broomstick (without the bristles) works best in my opinion. Start out with it with a really wide grip (with straight arms) in front of you (on your quads) and with straight arms bring it up and overhead and then down and back to the middle of your back--STRAIGHT ARMS ALL THE WAY--this is going to be very difficult and hard the first couple times out and then will be "old hat" with time----and its going to be painful in a stretching pump kind of way---i want 50 reps each time you do this--one repetition is from in front of your face (all with straight arms) to up overhead and back, and then down all the way to the middle of your back and then back up overhead to in front of your face again (again all with straight arms)--the important part of the movement is the area overhead that is really tight--do all of this carefully/slowly---dont just whip it over and back---if your hand is slipping off the broomstick even with the widest grip, or you cant bring your arms over straight and the start bending on you, you have some serious shoulder inflexibility and need to work this hard and get up to speed (or you could just need a longer broomstick too)--again do all of these revolutions controlled and carefully--push into the stretch as you go along toward the 50 revolutions, your chest will be pushing outward and your shoulders rolling back--your shoulders are going to blow up with so much blood its going to be incredibly painfull pumpwise--Do this once a day at nite as many times a week as you can---sometimes I have people do it every single day---but every time you do it try to move your grip inward (thats the key)----its going to be very hard to do but try your best to move your grip inward for the next 2-4 weeks and your range of motion with shoulders will increase dramatically and any impingement and the majority of other problems should be gone in 2 weeks--also try to move your grip in as you are doing the 50 revolutions--start off with a stretching but relatively easy 10 to warm up some, then try to move your grip in even by a centimeter if you can for the next 20 revolutions and then at 30 try to move the grip in another centimeter--really try to push what you can do stretchwise once your warmed up here--trust me this sounds easy but your going to be muttering "f*** you dante" after you get to your 25th revolution--Ive cured too many shoulder problems with this simple movement now its pretty ridiculous, and this and a menthol rub applied liberally daily and before sleep has cured alot of shoulder/bicepital tendonitis in trainees ---Heres a pic attached to this post so you can get an idea (thanks to a trainee of mine who cured his shoulders with this)--but remember the broomstick goes overhead and all the way back to the middle of the back (he just drew the start of the movement when you begin)
Last edited by Doggcrapp; 01-23-2005, 12:01 PM.
Click to expand...
 
Matthieu said:
I had a shoulder tendinis when I prepared for the certification... You should see a doctor or a physiotherapist. That's what I've done... and I didn't regret. Every time I've tried self medication and every time I've tried to ignore a joint pain (and I tried many times !), I wasted my time.
I think you should not underestimate the pain. What could be fixed in a few days (and maybe faster, with a good physiotherapist, if it is a trigger point) could last a long time if you wait.
You don't overreact. The certification is a really good experience. Don't let a shoulder pain spoil the party !
Click to expand...

What was the therapy that helped you out ultimately? I myself am suffering from a bout of impingement currently.

Nate said:
No he didn't. I may try to check in & see if that info is available. Its only in my right (throwing) shoulder and only since I was overzealous about a year ago so I'm expecting its 40 years of wear & tear. Thanks, I'll look into the type!
Click to expand...

I've been reading a bit about OHP recently after coming down with a shoulder injury. I'm only 26 but already highly doubt it is something I will implement in my training any longer. Regarding your shoulder health, look into passive hanging from a pull up bar, it creates space in the shoulder and allows for improved ROM. An orthopaedic surgeon wrote a whole book about hanging and how it solved 80% of his patients shoulder pain. He eventually stopped doing shoulder surgery altogether!
 
Opiaswing said:
What was the therapy that helped you out ultimately? I myself am suffering from a bout of impingement currently.
Click to expand...
That was not a problem with my shoulder anatomy. I don't have a bad shoulder mobility. That was an active restriction. I had a weakness in the neck (A kind of muscular amnesia maybe... I was surprised because I practice BJJ since 2001 !), and that weakness was the cause of some compensation... and finally the cause of a deltoid tendinis.
I tried massage and stretching, but it had changed nothing. I tried the classic exercises for shoulder rotator cuff, but without result.
I saw a physiotherapist after a few month . The physiotherapist told me to do an exercise (a kind of stretch against a resistance behind the head). In the first weeks, I did the exercice 3 or 4 times per day. Nothing changes. I came back to him and said that his exercise was not effective. I tell me : "Oh, no, not 3 or 4 times per day. A least 10 times ! That's the minimum". A kind of GTG in fact...
After 3 weeks (10 rep, 10-12 times per day), my shoulder was fine ! Very simple... too simple ! But that was very specific with my problem.

That was my last problem... I had a lot of other before (knee pain, contractures in the back because of BJJ, etc.). Every time, the solution have been given by a good physiotherapist !

PS : the exercise looks like that, but I did it alone :
 
Last edited:
Matthieu said:
That was not a problem with my shoulder anatomy. I don't have a bad shoulder mobility. That was an active restriction. I had a weakness in the neck (A kind of muscular amnesia maybe... I was surprised because I practice BJJ since 2001 !), and that weakness was the cause of some compensation... and finally the cause of a deltoid tendinis.
I tried massage and stretching, but it had changed nothing. I tried the classic exercises for shoulder rotator cuff, but without result.
I saw a physiotherapist after a few month . The physiotherapist told me to do an exercise (a kind of stretch against a resistance behind the head). In the first weeks, I did the exercice 3 or 4 times per day. Nothing changes. I came back to him and said that his exercise was not effective. I tell me : "Oh, no, not 3 or 4 times per day. A least 10 times ! That's the minimum". A kind of GTG in fact...
After 3 weeks (10 rep, 10-12 times per day), my shoulder was fine ! Very simple... too simple ! But that was very specific with my problem.

That was my last problem... I had a lot of other before (knee pain, contractures in the back because of BJJ, etc.). Every time, the solution have been given by a good physiotherapist !

PS : the exercise looks like that, but I did it alone :
Click to expand...

Thank you for this! I have actually been having shoulder trouble since my neck has been hurting; now I wonder if the two are linked! I will start doing this.
 
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