Shoulder pain going overhead
A pinching ache on the outside or front of the shoulder in a specific overhead range: wall balls, ski erg, thrusters. Typically a load-tolerance problem in the cuff rather than damage to the joint.
This is general training information, not medical advice, and nothing here is a diagnosis. The same pain can have very different causes, and only a qualified professional who can assess you in person can tell which one is yours. If pain is severe, getting worse, or not settling, get it looked at.
- · A pinch through a particular arc of the overhead range, easier above and below it.
- · Ache down the outside of the upper arm rather than in the joint itself.
- · Worse lying on that side at night.
- · Fine for a few reps, then building through a set.
- · A big block of overhead volume (wall balls, ski erg, presses) added at once.
- · Pressing volume far outstripping pulling volume over months.
- · Overhead range that isn't quite there, so the shoulder muscles its way into position.
- · Fatigue late in a set, where mechanics change and the same reps load differently.
- · Wall balls in high-rep sets.
- · Ski erg, especially long intervals.
- · Thrusters and push press.
- · Kipping pull-ups and toes-to-bar.
- · Pressing and pulling in the ranges that stay quiet, usually most of them.
- · All lower-body training.
- · Rowing, running and the bike.
- · Progressive cuff loading, which is the mainstay of most recoveries.
Like-for-like substitutions that keep the training stimulus while the niggle settles. A swap, not a rest day.
- · Rotator cuff and scapular strength loaded progressively, not just band work as a warm-up.
- · Pulling volume brought back into balance with pressing volume.
- · Overhead range checked, and worked on if it is genuinely limiting.
- · Overhead volume rebuilt in steps, with the painful arc reintroduced last.
None of the advice above applies if any of these are true. These are the signs that this is not an ordinary training niggle. Stop managing it yourself and get assessed.
- · Clear weakness. You cannot lift the arm, or it drops when you lower it slowly.
- · Pain after a fall or a specific traumatic moment, especially with a change in shoulder shape.
- · Pins and needles or numbness down the arm.
- · Pain that is constant, at rest, and not related to any particular movement.
Sweatlas is not a medical provider. Everything in the niggle index is general information about training, written for healthy adults, and it is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Do not use it to self-diagnose or to delay getting care. If you have pain that is severe, worsening, or not settling, or you have any of the warning signs listed on the page, see a doctor or a qualified physiotherapist.