Tight pecs causing shoulder blade pain

Question

Hi , I lift weights 4 times a week. I have a trainer and l alternate workouts so I work out arms one day legs the next day off then arms then legs then get 2 days off. That gives me 2 days in between the body part. Anyway, I seem to be getting very tight pecs on one side and it causes sharp pain in the same side of that shoulder blade in the back. If I press on the pec the shoulder blade pain goes away. If I let go it comes right back. I get massages and it has take the problem away for a couple of months now I did a harder work out and it came back. I do use a Lacross ball to roll the area out in between as my trainer showed me and it is still there. Plus some stretches. 

Is there any thing I can do to get rid of this problem or work on it other than paying for expensive massages. It comes right back most of the time after a massage. Some times it lasts for while. I don't believe in Chiropractors so that isn't an option. 

thanks for your suggestions.
mkh9

gymdandee · Accepted Answer

Pax. An  Osteopath at least in N.Y. and N.J. do not have MD!
As for mkh9, First before doing any exercise do you warm up the muscles? As Paxiled said your trainer might need to be retrained.
Also I suggest using a foam roller instead of the lacrosse ball.
You might be overdoing it and the weight could be to heavy. Buy the books by Mitchell T. Yass
Overpower Pain and  Pain Cure RX. As per Paxiled an MRI might be needed.

gymdandee · Answer

That's why I suggested those books because of the muscle issues.

colorfulfish · Answer

I believe it's all interconnected.  After a car accident I had a chronic neck injury.  I sought the help of many but found greatest relief by a massage therapist.  It wasn't a swanky, relaxing massage but one that only was fine for pain relief.  Part of every visit for neck and shoulder pain included a 'release' of muscles in my chest and lower from neck.  Sounds strange but I went weekly for a year and found that pain often originated or was released in places where I wasn't exactly having the pain. Good luck

mkh9 · Answer

Paxiled, Thanks for your comments. yes I always am skeptical of any type of treatment whether it is medical or other wise. I was injured by two PT's and ended up with a bad back for years. Also, the doctors are useless towards chronic back pain. My trainer got me totally out of back pain after 10 years of it. The PT's kept saying it was SI joint dysfunction when originally it was a strain which became a torn ligament thanks to the Ph.D. level PT that injured me trying to do ART "therapy". Then finally after a knee injury I saw this trainer and he helped me with my knee and back and i am finally almost back to normal except for this shoulder problem. It is not surprising I have a muscle imbalance on that side. That is the same side as the back problem. I have been working with him on strengthening that side while tying to go forward. My doctor just tried to put me on one pill after another. I did see an integrative medicine doctor and tried accupunture and that didn't help at all after 20 tries and 3 different operators, and also biofeedback for anxiety which did work very well. That doctor was good and at least got me walking hills from just sitting all day. I don't believe in chiros. I have been to osteopathic doctor for my tendonitis and they have some utility if they are an MD. When you are in pain you try anything after 10 years. My pain doctor was a jerk. I only went once. So, I have through a lot and didn't want to mention all that because it is a lot for the sake of this topic. Most people will get bored quickly reading someone's life story. LOL.  Massage has taken the pain away from me once before so I may go back for that. But the trainer has me doing muscle imbalance exercises for it now (again). Now I have to do them every time I do arm exercises. It has been a long road. I don't really trust any practitioner 100%. I am a microbiologist myself and am a science based person. So I do a lot of reading but still am open to a lot of things if they make sense.
mkh9

mkh9 · Answer

Hi gymdandee,
no not yet. I have done one similar to #1. But not the other two. I can try those and see if they help. 
Thanks,
mkh9

Paxiled · Answer

Just to add, I once was referred by a personal trainer to a book by a superstar among personal trainers.  He got so famous he had a facility in California and became a high-powered well-known trainer with a philosophy and his own book.  As with most trainers that become this well-known, he got some famous clients who in turn helped him become more famous.  One was Nomar Garciaparra, a great young professional baseball player who was well on his way to the Hall of Fame.  But he started getting injured in his mid twenties and never returned to his former skill level.  His super trainer had been credited by him for his success, but alas, his body fell apart.  One of his other celebrity clients was Tiger Woods.  Don't think we have to say what happened to him.  Which is to say, everybody's selling, but it takes time to see what actually happens.  Your trainer is hopefully the best of all time, and I have no reason to doubt that he is, but never trust anyone remotely connected to the medical field -- always retain a healthy doubt.  This is what I've discovered as I've gotten older and been butchered and ruined by highly recommended and regarded health professionals.  You have to do your best and hope they do, too, but you learn over time that everyone is human and everyone convinces themselves they're right.  I do it, Gym does it, you probably do it.  It's what we do.  Always keep your skepticism and your faith and your belief -- without optimism in your trainer, you won't get the most out of him, without skepticism you will suffer an injury as you have and let it fester and not question that maybe you're doing something that just isn't right for you.  All the best, that's all I can really offer over the internet.

Paxiled · Answer

Gym, all osteopaths have a DO degree, which is akin to an MD in general medicine with additional training in the same kinds of adjustments made by chiropractors.  Many osteopaths practice general medicine as well as or instead of osteopathy.

Paxiled · Answer

There are no experts on this forum.  We're just folks like you.  We can offer things from our experience, but not many people use this forum and again, nobody on here is an expert.  The internet is a wilderness.  It can be very useful when you have a diagnosis, but without one we have no idea what's going on and neither do you.  It sounds like you love your trainer, and that's great.  Most personal trainers are not well trained, and if you've ever been in physical therapy for injuries, as I have often been, the room is filled with personal trainers.  What's good for one person isn't necessarily good for another.  All we know here is that you have a problem that is recurring, and all we want is for you to get it addressed by someone with some expertise so it doesn't become a chronic problem.  And never ever have blind faith in anyone, not someone on the internet, not a personal trainer, not a doctor.  We're all human, and we all make mistakes.  That being said, I admit I have no idea what's going on with you or why, I just want you to get better.

mkh9 · Answer

I have a great trainer. He is a master trainer and has extra certifications in getting people to rehab from injuries as well as other things. He helped me get from sitting all day with back pain to where I am now in the last year and a half. Yes I do stretch and then  warm ups with lighter weights and go up to heavier before I do my sets. I have had this a couple of times before and it is the pec pulling on the back. So if I press on the area the back area goes away. Last time I got a massage on the pecs and it took the pain away entirely. Then my trainer worked my weaker side for a while. That is what he is doing this time too. But I just want to try to prevent getting this again if possible. I will take a look at the book you mentioned gymdandee. I'm not doing my exercises wrong. I would be the first one to say I was. I don't have problems lifting and I don't feel anything pull. I just tighten up when I am lifting. It is usually when I go up in weight then I get used to it. It is possible that the percent increase is too much at once. But, I had been doing 17.5 DB overhead press for a few weeks then went up to 20 Lb Db OH press. It is the next weight they have. I did less reps. Then switched to box squats the next day was doing 65lb which were light then the next week went up to 75lb. Today I just went in and stretched and was given some rehab things to strengthen the left side.

Paxliled, I think this site is for addressing questions like this. I can obviously go to a doctor. And, I do have a very good trainer and follow his technique or I don't do it. If I had a problem that required an MRI a massage wouldn't make the problem go away. I think it is a muscle imbalance. But I would like to know how else to correct the tightness I get during or after I work out in the pec area. 
Thanks, 
mkh9

Paxiled · Answer

It could be your trainer isn't any good and you're doing your exercises incorrectly.  It could be you, being nobody else, might need more time in between workouts.  It could be you're lifting too much weight too soon, or too much for you.  It could be a structural problem, which can only be found by an MRI.  If you have a bias against chiropractors, see an osteopath, who does the same thing but has an MD.

Tight pecs causing shoulder blade pain

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