Overheard press??

[NinjaMom]

Hi Cathe & Forum Friends,
I have a question. Yesterday while I was doing MIS overhead press (shoulders section) I heard a clicking on top of my shoulder and it felt like something (joint or bone?)was popping in and out place. It was not painful but annoying and I was wondering if this continues, could it lead to a repetitive use injury? My dad has had shoulder problems and needed rotator cuff surgery so I'm wondering if this might be a genetic thing. Has anyone else experienced this? Please let me know what you think. Thanks!
JJ

 

[Beets]

Hi JJ,
I do not have the MIS tapes, in fact, I am a Cathe newbie. I just ordered the Strong Legs and Abs tape and it is not in yet--it will be my first Cathe tape and I can't wait to try it :-jumpy

Regarding your clicking shoulder, are your elbows out to the sides at even level with your shoulders at the start of the movement--in other words, do your arms look like a football goal post at the beginning of the movement and then you press the weight overhead? This is a standard position for overhead presses. You might want to try bringing in your arms towards the midline of your body a little bit (as if you were starting to do a pec fly) and then pressing from there. I hope my descriptions are not too confusing here! Basically, the top of your upper arm bone has a bony process on it that can catch the tendons of your shoulder muscles between that process and the acromion process (that bony protrusion you can feel at the very end of your shoulder)when you raise the arms overhead. Sometimes simply moving the arms forward a little will allow that bony process to clear the acromion process. I hope this makes sense--it is hard to describe some of these movements in words!

 

[NinjaMom]

Hi Beets,
Thanks for your response. I have been doing the overhead press with the standard form so I'll try your advice and see if the clicking stops. If it does continue, do you know if this "catching of the tendons" will lead to problems or injury in the future? As I said, it isn't painful but annoying and I certainly don't want it to lead to an inury that will lay me up.

BTW, I am also new to Cathe as of the end of January but I already have MIC, MIS, I-Max, Power Hour, Cardio Kicks, and Circuit Max. I love them all and I'm sure you'll be hooked too.
Good luck! JJ

 

[jgoycoolea]

If you continue to hear the popping, you could also try using dummbells instead. I don't feel comfortable doing shoulder presses with a barbell myself. I don't feel like my right arm moves in a comfortable plane; my neck feels sore the next day. Maybe you have a similar situation. Jeanne

 

[mogambo]

I thought you made a very funny pun with the "overheard press" since you keep "overhearing" it.

 

[Faythe]

I have a right shoulder problem also. I hear cracking when I over extend it too much. I am not doing anything about it now. I can't afford to time wise and price wise. I didn't notice it until I started working out again. I did something like 10 years ago and worked for an Orthopedic doc and he took an exray and the bones were not lining up properly. We concluded it might have been caused by wearing a heavy pocket book all the time on that shoulder. He advised physical therapy, but I couldn't afford it so I forgot about it. At that time the pain was horrible. Then it stopped eventually. Then when I started working out it started again, not the pain as much, but cracking noise and I'm unable to have as much range with that arm. If I were you, I'd get an exray and at least see what can be done about it. I will eventually.
Faythe

 

[maureen]

I have an shoulder impingement on my right shoulder. I get the clicking during overhead presses and sometimes during oblique work when I am crossing my shoulder to the opposite side ex. rt shoulder to lt knee. I just modify my weights if its acting up.

 

[Beets]

Another thing you can start incorporating into your routine is doing exercises for the rotator cuff. These muscles are what hold your upper arm in the shoulder joint and when they are weak, things don't line up like they should and you can get impingement of the tendons with overhead activity. One exercise is called external rotation and is done as follows:

Lie on your side with your elbow resting on your hip and bent to 90 degrees (your forearm will be facing the floor). Hold a light dumbell(1-3# to start)in your hand.

Keeping your elbow pinned to your hip bone, you are going to rotate the weight upward as far as you can. At the end of the movement, your hand+dumbell will be pointing straight up to the ceiling (or close to it depending on your range of motion). Think of your arm as being like a swinging door on a hinge. Do 1-2 sets of 15 reps per arm. You will feel a burning deep inside the shoulder when you do these. These are small muscles which is why they fatigue easily and require such light dumbells.

Adding this exercise to your repertoire might help with the cracking. Also, make sure you give adequate attention to your your upper back muscles, rear delts, and trapezius as these muscles all help in maintaining proper alignment of the shoulder.

Good luck

 

[Faythe]

I remember doing that exercise in the S&H series. Yeah, I think I'll add that one to my regular shoulder workout.