Background:
At the beginning of August I separated my shoulder in a bike accident by going over the bars and falling onto the back of my shoulder. It was a mild type 1 and through PT I was recovered in time to race (aka finish) IMMD mid-September. I took a few months off and did some weight training three times a week until the New Year. Towards the beginning of November I started running again with a 6 day per week BarryP plan starting short and working up. Come January I’ve stopped weights and have been going full SBR mostly on treadmill and trainer but getting outside whenever my schedule permits.
Problem:
I’ve had no issues with my shoulder during or since the race until around a month ago other than mild discomfort if I fall asleep on it. However since my training has been getting to longer runs I’ve found that after about 45 minutes of running I get an deep ache right around the top inside of my shoulder blade that gets worse and worse as the run goes on. After 1h15 to 1h20 it gets to the point where it’s quite uncomfortable and makes it very difficult to stay focused on the run. I can kind of keep it at bay long enough to finish my runs by holding my other shoulder to take the pressure off or changing my arm swing up every few minutes but I don’t know if I’ll be able to run for the duration of a marathon unless I can change something. The ache is the type of pain you get in your back when you sit up in bed without good back support and your muscles ache from fatigue (but obviously localized to my shoulder). I saw my PT today and he said I have no strength or range of motion issues. He ran through a bunch of different tests and nothing hurt so he wasn’t sure what the problem could be.
Have any of you had anything similar or any ideas on what to try to get this resolved?
Shoulders are a very complex, unstable joint. You may have shifted some of your anatomy when healing from the AC separation. Running can be hard on shoulders due to the gravitational pounding (I know from a rotator cuff and SLAP repair).
MICE it, see a doctor, and probably PT. I thought I was done for when, after a year, mine still felt unstable, but being smart with weights brought it back to normal.
I fell onto the back of my shoulder a while ago. It didn’t dislocate but was pretty painful and prevented a full range of motion. That largely sorted itself out but like you, sleeping badly on it could cause problems for 10 days at a time. I went to see a chiropractor about it who diagnosed it as a rotator cuff problem. It has recovered pretty well since then although I still need a couple more treatments. I would definitely recommend seeing some sort of specialist
I separated mine one year, went through PT and the ups and downs of a really unstable joint for a season. A year after, I went over the handlebars and reaggravated it. Oddly, it is the hurts the most when running. I’ve just resigned myself to a life of band work. It really helps keep the pain and discomfort at bay.
FWIW i separated mine in 1982 or so and it still hurts. i can’t wear a bra that goes over the shoulder on the run at all - no pressure there or lots and lots of pain the longer the run goes on.
With the caveat that I am no doc, but had a grade 3 separation a few years back training for IMAZ…
In my case, I experienced the same kind of fatigue discomfort in the same area, usually about 6-8 miles into a run. In my case, what my PT confirmed, it was because the ligaments that connected the collarbone to the shoulder blade (physiology may not be correct here, but you know what I mean) were no longer there (total grade 3), and the should blade was now trying to hold itself up, which it was not designed to do. A lot of planks, a lot of PT exercise - rolling a swiss ball up the wall with the affected arm, etc. - designed to strengthen the complementary muscles to take up the slack of the missing ligament. Also used kinesio tape to help hold the shoulder up.
This may not be you as you had a grade 1
I sometimes still get this issue mildly when I start upping the mileage
Sorry to hear about your pain. A good shoulder exam and possibly some xrays would take this pain from the land of the unknown to the known. Once a solid diagnosis is established, then a specific treatment plan, specific to you, can be developed.
I am a sports med ortho. A grade I AC separation is very mild with no displacement by definition. So if you are still symptomatic, either it was a higher grade or you injured something else (fracture, rotator cuff, labrum).
See a shoulder or sports medicine ortho specialist. They will start with an exam and likely xrays, possibly MRI/MRA.