Sometime around the end of last year I aggravated something in my shoulder. Then I think I tweaked it worse at boot camp doing two of the resistance bands at the same time. I was also lifting 1-2 times a week in the off days. Ever since then I can't seem to bench w/o pain, do any rear delt stuff, or anything where you raise your elbows straight up and out from your side (sorry I don't know the terminology, think chicken dance). Dips are also impossible.

The problem feels like it runs from the middle top to outer part of my shoulder, along the crest (IE - not to the front or rear). But deeper near the joint. This graphic seems to hit it pretty well:



I think I partially tore my rotator cuff 10 *on the other arm* years ago serving tennis. That injury felt like it was much more to the front. I could barely bench for a couple years, but then built it back up to where I don't notice it at all when I workout anymore.

It only really bothers me when I try to work out, and lasts a few days. When it's bothering me, I can't reach behind my back very well, taking off a shirt is hard, and sleeping on that side can be uncomfortable. Then after a couple days it will ease up and go back to where I can still feel some dull, mild pain if I try to rotate it through the full motion. But not enough to inhibit my movement. I've babied it for 1-2 months, now, haven't tried to work out and just done a few push ups, and it still feels not quite right.

I went to my primary Dr., who sent me to get an x-ray, which came back "as normal as she's ever seen". So she won't refer to get an MRI because the HMO would give her a hard time. But she refered me to an orthopedic Dr. if I want. She recommended taking advil when I workout. But when I try to bench my shoulder starts producing a really sharp pain, that to me says - do not continue or something might snap. Or at the very least - if you continue you are going to be in pain for a few days. I don't know if I want to dull that with advil.

I will probably try to work out again this weekend to see if it's any better. But just rotating it around, it doesn't feel like much has changed from how it felt the last time I tried to workout. I talked to a body-builder I know and he seemed to think deep tissue massage would help. I'm going to try that this weekend as well.

Anyone else been through anything similar? Any other advice? Should I keep babying it, or try to build it back up through the pain? I have been taking glucosomine for almost a year.

Sounds like a sprained rotator cuff to me (I had a similar injury caused by going too deep on a weighted dip) I think you need to just ease off the bench press and any activity that aggravates it for several months and give it a chance to heal.

My shoulder took a good 5 months of rest/ice/rehab exercises before I could do full-effort bench press without any pain.

Yeah that sounds like it could be right. How often did you use ice, and what rehab exercises did you do?

This happened to me last December. It still hurts over 6 months later.

Had a similar problem with my right shoulder several years ago. It hurt real bad every time I did bench but the pain was especially bad when doing overhead press on the smith machine. I took a number of weeks off from these and any other exercises that aggravated it and iced it twice a day and put myself on a daily dosage of Advil for the inflammation. After the pain was somewhat tolerable I was forced to re-think my chest and shoulder routines. No more bench press or smith military presses, instead I switched to dumbbell movements starting out at ridiculously low weights and VERY VERY strict form. Slowly, over a couple of years, the shoulder got better, even to the point of being able to bench press on the smith machine to maintain strictest of form as well as military press.

Currently, I'm able to use maximum weight on both movements no problem but still do them on the smith machine to maintain the most stability and form. I do occasionally have some "twinges" but I will put myself on Aleve (I like it better due to longer acting and better anti-inflammation, for me) and ice.

I hate injuries with a passion because keep me away from the gym but over the years I've realized that it pretty much goes with the territory and you must learn to listen to what your body is telling you, never underestimate the importance of recovery, and oftentimes injuries can force you reinvent your routines or concentrate on unaffected muscle groups.