If you’re lifting weights regularly, there’s a chance that you’ve experienced shoulder pain at some point. It’s fairly common for people that lift and if it only happens on occasion, it may just be normal muscle soreness that comes with working out. However, if it’s a regular occurrence and you’re getting shoulder pain every time you work out, it could be a sign of something more serious. If you have an issue with shoulder pain after lifting weights, these are some of the best ways to deal with it.
Stop Working Out
The first thing that you should do when you notice shoulder pain is to stop working out. In some cases, it might be nothing more than a bit of normal muscle soreness. However, there is always the chance that it could be something worse and if you carry on lifting, you’re just going to make the problem worse and it will take a lot longer to heal up. Stop your workout routine until you can identify the problem and find a way to fix it.
See A Doctor
Like any other health problem, it’s a good idea to see a doctor if you’re really struggling with shoulder pain. There’s a chance that you might have done some serious damage and you’re in need of a shoulder surgeon or at the very least some painkillers and physical therapy. If there is some serious damage, you need to know as soon as possible so you don’t continue with your normal workout and end up hurting yourself further. If you’re experiencing regular shoulder pain after workouts, see a doctor just to be sure.
Check Your Form
Sometimes, shoulder pain can come about because you’re not doing your exercises correctly. It’s important that you’re safe at the gym and you check your form to make sure that you’re lifting correctly and safely, otherwise, you’ll end up damaging the muscles in your shoulders. If you’re new to lifting and you aren’t sure whether you’re doing it correctly it might be worth getting a few sessions with a personal trainer.
Strengthen Your Traps
There tends to be a big difference between the people that experience shoulder pain when they’re lifting and people that don’t. People that struggle with shoulder pain tend to have weaker trapezius muscles. If you do external rotation strengthening exercises regularly, you’ll find that you won’t have as much shoulder pain after lifting. It’s very simple to do these exercises but they’ll make so much difference and you might find that your shoulder pain disappears completely.
Don’t Sleep On The Sore Side
When you go to sleep with shoulder pain, if you sleep on the side that is sore, it’s going to put more strain on the muscles and cut off the blood flow to the affected area, which will slow down the recovery. Try to sleep on the opposite side and if both shoulders are hurting, sleep on your back.
Shoulder pain can be a big problem if you’re lifting weights regularly but if you follow these steps, you should be able to deal with it effectively.
