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?

[donnydarkoIRL]

Heya Sharla, the fact that it's your "good" shoulder suggests that it may be a resultant of impact.

Often when starting boxing we throw our harder punch (right straight) a lot more frequently than any other punch we end up doing some damage to the cartilage in the socket and also to the ligaments around the shoulder.
This is because in our earnest efforts at the start we throw arm punches and they play against us in the long term.

I guess what I would do is apply a something like Tiger balm and Shadow box the punches from the right as a stretch. I find this helps release the synovial fluid in the joints as well as slowly bringing the ligaments you will be using into life, just before the workout.

Kee[p us posted

[FeuerFrei]

I've also had a battered old biker swear to me about a substance call Bio Freeze or Cryo Freeze or something like that. He told me that it really helps him out with aches and pains. I have yet to try it, but I've kept it in the back of my mind. Right now, I use mineral ice or tiger balm.
I don't think having female hips play quite so much into it. What I think may factor in more is the fact that female shoulders are a little different from male shoulders. Female shoulders tend to naturally direct the arms further away from the body's center line. That you are having pain when throwing the cross is a little puzzling since that and the hook are two punches that are compatible with the away from the center line tendency.
It usually is the straight line punches towards the center line that cause damage to the shoulders.

[Sharla]

I guess I just thought that female hips beign larger could mean that postural problems are going to have a bigger effect. Sort of similar to the way women will often have a larger Q angle causing knee pain.

I am really interested in the differences in our shoulders too though. If you know where I can find some good info on this i'd be interested to read more!

Also I don't completely understand why the cross wouldn't still go to the centre line? Can you explain that further to me?I kinda thought that once the pivot and hip movement brings it to the right point it moves in a similar way to a jab - but with more power and momentum beind it from the pivot?

[FeuerFrei]

Oh, the cross can go to the center line all right. It just doesn't travel along the center line. Sorry, I probably didn't explain that right the first time. A cross comes from more to the outside and you can direct it to where you want to go, including the center line. I'll have to see if I can dig up some information about the shoulders. Most of what I've got on the shoulder differences in females, I got from a spoken lecture on the subject. The hip differences came up too.
I agree with you about everything being interconnected and related. I've just noticed that the further from each other affected locations are, the less involved they are with each other. For example, the hip is not very close to the shoulder so while they are going to have influences on each other the influence will not be so great that you need to scrutinize both to great lengths to find out what is making the shoulder hurt. I would focus more on what is going on with the shoulder area and it's immediate surrounding areas first. Don't completely ignore the hips but focus first on the shoulder girdle.
Just as soon as I get a chance, though, I'll see if I can find you some more info on the female shoulder.

[Sharla]

Heya Sharla, the fact that it's your "good" shoulder suggests that it may be a resultant of impact.

Often when starting boxing we throw our harder punch (right straight) a lot more frequently than any other punch we end up doing some damage to the cartilage in the socket and also to the ligaments around the shoulder.
This is because in our earnest efforts at the start we throw arm punches and they play against us in the long term.

I guess what I would do is apply a something like Tiger balm and Shadow box the punches from the right as a stretch. I find this helps release the synovial fluid in the joints as well as slowly bringing the ligaments you will be using into life, just before the workout.

Kee[p us posted

Oh, the cross can go to the center line all right. It just doesn't travel along the center line. Sorry, I probably didn't explain that right the first time. A cross comes from more to the outside and you can direct it to where you want to go, including the center line. I'll have to see if I can dig up some information about the shoulders. Most of what I've got on the shoulder differences in females, I got from a spoken lecture on the subject. The hip differences came up too.
I agree with you about everything being interconnected and related. I've just noticed that the further from each other affected locations are, the less involved they are with each other. For example, the hip is not very close to the shoulder so while they are going to have influences on each other the influence will not be so great that you need to scrutinize both to great lengths to find out what is making the shoulder hurt. I would focus more on what is going on with the shoulder area and it's immediate surrounding areas first. Don't completely ignore the hips but focus first on the shoulder girdle.
Just as soon as I get a chance, though, I'll see if I can find you some more info on the female shoulder.

Thanks Hitmandonny and FeuerFrie

I hope it's not the result of an impact. I'll be really POd with myself for ignoring it if it is because i don't remember any injury or moment of intense shoulder pain. I don't think it's a recent thing because I lost power in my right cross a long time ago - before my knee started hurting. That's one reason I think it's all related.

I guess I was thinking it should be related to my back because I know that is bad and that is what causes the hip tightness and what caused/aggrivated the knee pain.

I'd be really interested in reading that info on the female shoulder any time if you have a chance to put it up too. That's be awesome of you!

I think i used to have one shoulder higher than the other. Now though they look like they're about the same height but the bone on the top of the right one sticks out a bit more. Does that indicate anything in particular?

[md]

Hey Sharla, been meaning to post this for a while but was away for a bit then had trouble logging in. Here's a kind of general stabalising shoulder exercise for you which may help your pain. Lie down on your side and do slow controlled straight arm lateral raises from your hip up to but no more than 45 degrees. Start light and aim towards using a weight of about 8% of your bodyweight. Once you get a feel for the movement you can then try some elastic with a similar resistance.

[Sharla]

Awesome thanks MD! I'll start that tonight

[donnydarkoIRL]

Hey Sharla, hope it's improved a bit for you.

Mine was threatening to flare up just yesterday.
A bit worried now as I'm just about to kick into a new training regime

[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.