Different muscle pull!

[skiboyny]

I skied a nice set last week and at the end of it felt some discomfort in what I thought was my left shoulder. It was hard to pinpoint where the problem was but noticed that it was somewhat difficult to lift my arm straight up. I definitely lost some pulling strength, and as ski conditions would have it took a week off. Went to ski today, and just coming out of the water was a searing pain that was very well defined now. It kind of shocked me cause I knew it might give me trouble skiing but I never thought just getting up on my ski was going to be an issue. It's just under my left arm maybe a lat, or teres major or minor. Lifting my arm cause pain there is no way I could do a chin up or heavy pull. It's a new spot for me, and I'm wondering if anyone here has done such a thing? I got a bad feeling about recovery time, it's been a real messed up year and our season isn’t long from over. Thoughts?

[vtmecheng]

It's tough to say what is going on because there's a lot of different muscles in the shoulder. It's easy to find some different rotator cuff tests online so you can narrow down the injury. Don't forget the horn blowers test, some rotator cuff test lists forget that one but it's a good one for the teres minor. Biggest of all, if it hurts that bad get to an shoulder ortho. Good luck, I injured my teres minor earlier this year and I couldn't even try to ski for 8 or 9 weeks. It was really frustrating since our weather was perfect that whole time. Good thing I took it easy for so long though because I'm skiing better now than I ever have been.

[UWSkier]

depending what it is, you might be OK. I have a little bit of bursitis and tendonitis in my shoulder that's been there for over a year. I've largely been able to rehab the inflammation away and it doesn't bother me to ski unless I do something really dumb like hold onto slack. Mine's mostly an impingement. There are certain things though, like treading water with my hands at shoulder level, that will flare it up to the point the pain becomes almost unbearable.

 

Ice it down and go see an ortho.

[skiboyny]

Just to clarify a bit it’s not my shoulder at all. It seemed confusing last week it was the end of my set so all muscles were pretty lit up at that point. This hurts right in the back of the arm pit. Totally a pulling issue so I figured someone had to experience ii.

[bbruzzese]

May want to check out the Shoulder Sphere. Worked well for me

[TravisNW]

It could be teres major or minor, Supraspinatus infraspinatus or lats. do some kinda trigger point therapy with a lacrosse ball to pinpoint it and you might be able to identify it from there.

[skiboyny]

It’s a tough call on which as they all overlap and pass right over the “spot” I guess I’ve been lucky I’ve had plenty of injuries, but I have usually been able to keep skiing in some form. This won’t allow it at all. Our season is so short, seems like I’ll not get back. Thanks everyone who’s weighed in.

[DaveD]

@skiboyny Weakness in strength in your arm could be an indication of a pinched nerve in your neck. I'd recommend seeing a orthopedic and have it looked at.

[skiboyny]

As time passes I think it's become easier to identify. It seems the lat muscle is enraged. When it gets tight it affects the arms ability to raise. I never noticed it till recently but the lat is sore to the touch quite a ways down from the armpit. If I roll it out it, restores all mobility albeit temporarily. It's really a nice injury to have. Not particularly painful, unless I try to ski with it! It seems like my season is over. That is a tough pill to swallow...