Guys, I did my shoulder workout on Tuesday evening without much ado. Nothing stands out to me about the workout, but now I'm having some discomfort when I try and raise my arm in the forward position. Let me explain. I went to grab my laptop bag out off the back seat truck floor and I felt a tinge of discomfort. Today I cannot lift anything in the front raise position heavier than a 4-5 lb bag of anything without extreme discomfort. I did not even do front raises in my workout, but that is where it is hurting me today. Any ideas?? I wouldn't even mention if if it was slight discomfort, but it is much greater than that today.

Anterior subacromial shoulder impingement?

Will it go away if I take a week off?

RightWingConspirator said:

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Will it go away if I take a week off?

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Might get better. But assuming that's what it is, the problem is a sort of misalignment/muscle imbalance of the shoulder joint/rotator cuff. Rest will make the inflammation and pain go away, but the fundamental cause needs to be fixed to prevent recurrence.

Do you do rotator cuff exercises? Have rounded shoulder posture?

Without seeing you, would recommend a combination of internal and external rotation exercises with really good form. As well as straight arm pressdowns and avoiding overhead work for at least 2 weeks. Focus more on external rotation strengthening. But do some internal rotation. Also chest stretches/doorway stretches to open up the shoulders.

When something similar happened to me, I ignored it for too long and just kept trying to find ways to work around the pain. Eventually I had to take 4 months off of overhead work and bench press. By the time I got back to benching, I was starting with 25's on the bar. It was embarrasing. But my strength came back reasonably quick, though still isn't where it was before (partly because I've decided I'm no longer lifting for ego, or size, just longevity).

What's weird is that I've not ever had any issues with my shoulder before. I worked shoulders twice per week for about two years and never had an issue. This is the first time I've had an issue. I do intend to take some time off to see if it will repair itself, but it's bothersome for me to be working out for the betterment of my health only to find I'm now injured half the time from said workouts.

I've had several shoulder injuries over the years. Most of them just kind of popped up out of nowhere.

I've had success doing rotator cuff exercises similar to this by Ben Patrick.

I also do shoulder hangs (just hanging from a pull up bar far as long as possible a couple times per day).

Very tricky to give a conclusive answer. But, I have experienced a very similar thing. First, google "throwers ten" exercises which are designed to strengthen the minor shoulder muscles and promote better range of motion. What often causes my shoulder pain (and it manifests in a front raise movement like you), is severely knotted shoulder muscles. I bought one of those trigger point back massagers off Amazon and was able to immediately locate a painful muscle knot just outside my shoulder blade. Working on that for 5-10 minutes provided substantial immediate relief. I continue working on it every few hours and days and it goes away. All those muscles are interconnected so you might give that a try