Solving front of the shoulder pain
Biceps tendon issues are pretty common.
In the absence of trauma, you’ll probably have pain with
bench press
reach your arm across your body
reach behind you
The cause is simple - overloading the front of the shoulder.
It could just from doing too much activity (common)
I often see it from doing too much activity and have any of the postures that causes the shoulder to be more forward.
Most think it’s this stereotypical “bad posture” post, but in reality it can just be a normal variation of your posture.
Addressing it is simple - I use a 3 pronged approach.
#1 isometric to heal the tendon
Since the issue is usually training error, the tendon issue has been going on for awhile. Isometrics help address the underlying tendon health. A combo of isos and eventual heavy strength work will get you back to normal
#2 Change up exercise technique so you can continue to work around it
Total rest is the worse thing you can do, so technique adjustments may be necessary so you can continue to be active/exercise. Simple things like
reduce ROM
change grip
change angle
Can all help. You’ll know you’re on the right track because you can 1) keep pain less than 4/10 and 2) progress
#3 Address posture and strength so the tendon isn’t working so hard
Posture definitely can cause you to overuse the front of your shoulder. The issue is you are
too tight in the front of the shoulder
not tight enough in the back of the shoulder
Mobility work to the shoulders and upper back will solve this.
How long will this take to fix?
Tendon issues in the front of the shoulder can take up to 6+ months to fully go away. I’ll have clients continue to work out, they’ll just notice pain at extremes of motion.
For example, my recent client with front of the shoulder pain was able to do everything he needed, just noticed pain for a couple seconds when he would put on his flight suit. It was less consistent over time, and at around 7 months it stopped completely.
Here’s the program I had him doing