Shoulder Pain

[Sharla]

Ok sometimes I'm getting a bit of pain in my right shoulder on impact when I throw my cross.

I have also noticed that I am weaker when doing one handed pushups with my right hand than with my left hand. Seems like I should be stronger with that side since I'm right handed.

So I'm thinking I might have a bad postural habit or something i'm doing has caused my right side to weaken.

I do remember noticing my right cross sort of disappear on my ages ago - way before I hurt my knee - maybe almost 2 years ago now.

Anyone have any ideas of what I might be doing wrong? Suggestions on how to re-strengthen it before it gets any worse?

[FeuerFrei]

Hmm. Where in your shoulder are your getting pain? The front? Back? Top? I sometimes get pain in my anterior deltoid (front) when I throw punches. Except I get it in my left shoulder since I'm a southpaw. As far as I can tell with me, it seems to be a strain in the muscle that got a little scar or possibly osseous tissue buildup in the healing process so now it gripes from time to time. Have you stood in front of a mirror and compared one shoulder to the other? Look for things like differences in muscle size and definition and if your collar bone sticks up at the top of your should more on one side.
I never really could do one handed push ups well and didn't really worry too much about it since they seem to put undue strain on the rotator cuff so I don't do them.
Also what do you think my be the postural habit that might be causing the problem?

[Sharla]

Thanks for the reply FeuerFrei,

I'll have a look at my shoulders tonight and see if I can see anything. I get it in the front too but I don't think I've ever had a shoulder injury before that I know of.

I guess i'm assuming I have a bad postural habit because that would make sense with the other issues I've had. Maybe something like the way I sit/stand or something to do with my boxing stance. I don't really know.

Do you have or have you had any other pains which might co-occur with your shoulder pain? Tightness in the hip on the same side perhaps? I do and I'm wondering if we have something in common?

Thanks for giving me a starting point there - I'll check for any visible signs when I get home tonight and get back to you

[Sharla]

Just found this link in case it's of any interest to anyone - sort of explains why I think it could be related to posture:

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[FeuerFrei]

I haven't really noticed any pains along with the shoulder pain. On the other hand, I can't rule out there being something related. I get tightness in my upper back and my neck on a pretty regular basis. Those might be related. I've also had a nagging pain in my right hip flexor that had some impact on my running gate for awhile but it did not appear to have any impact on the shoulder...at least none that I have noticed.

[Sharla]

Yeah I sort of think most things are related. I'm not sure if I just make things more complicated for myself thinking that way but I didn't recover from my knee pain until I dealt with my back pain.

I'm sure my issues are not all 100 % better but I think there's still a lot of improvement possible. I sort of think dealing with these little niggles might improve my performance a lot.

When I look at old photos of myself I know my posture is a lot straighter than it used to be but I guess I had to be doing a certain amount of exercise and have a few other factors thrown into the mix to get pain from it.

In a way I think if I deal with it all now as much as possible I won't have to worry about it as much as many other people in my old age. What's a 'niggle' now might be really debilitating in 40 years time. I think the other option is to be almost a bit of a hypochondriac now and fix as much as possible so I can still be active in my old age.

Sorry if all the posts I put up about my aches and pains get boring - i just think it seems like it should all be simple once you've worked it out but until you have your own little biomechanical issues fully sorted they're just plain confusing!

I wonder if having female hips might mean you and I will be prone to some similar things FeuerFrie?

[Bomp]

I haven't really noticed any pains along with the shoulder pain. On the other hand, I can't rule out there being something related. I get tightness in my upper back and my neck on a pretty regular basis. Those might be related. I've also had a nagging pain in my right hip flexor that had some impact on my running gate for awhile but it did not appear to have any impact on the shoulder...at least none that I have noticed.

I've also had a nagging right hip flexor problem, nothing serious at all just annoying, I think it comes from throwing the cross, when you turn your hips with the right leg trailing behind there's a strain on the hip flexor. Lots of warming up and streitching is the answer.

Donny's comments on arm punches when a beginner rings true to me as well. Throwing tense arm punches to try and get more power before getting the technique right does yank at the shoulder and can do damage. I still get over enthusiastic sometimes on the bag and lose my form, when I do it now I go and shadow a little to get the relaxation back and seems to do the trick.