You use your shoulders in a wide variety of upper body exercises. However, some versions of exercise, whether targeted to the shoulder muscles or not, can cause pain. This pain is typically the result of impinging the joint, causing tendinitis or small tears in the tendons that run under the bones of the shoulder.
Military Press
The military press involves lifting your hands directly up while holding either a dumbbell or barbell. The motion of fully extending your arm can cause the tendons to get trapped in the joint. If you feel pain when you complete this exercise, stop immediately. Since you are lifting a weight over your head, you run the risk not only of further damaging your shoulder, but also dropping a weight on your head.
Side Raises
Whether using a dumbbell, exercise tubing or a weight plate, a side shoulder raise can also impinge your shoulder. This exercise requires that you lift a weighted object or resistance tubing to your side with your arm fully extended. This requires the upper arm bone to rotate in its socket and may trap the tendon during the movement. If you feel pain, stop immediately to minimize the potential for further injury.
Bench Press
Since the bench press focuses primarily on working the pectoral muscles, the muscles of the chest, you may not think it can cause issues with the shoulder. However, whether you use dumbbells or a barbell, the motion involves pressing a weight up. This motion requires your shoulder to rotate and potentially trap the tendons as you move. Stop immediately if you feel any pain. The risk of dropping the weight onto your chest or throat is significant.
Treatment
Shoulder pain may be from an exercise you're trying at the gym, but it also may be due to repetitive motion, such as a weekend spent painting a room. If you feel shoulder pain, ice your shoulder and rest it. Do not work through the pain. If the pain does not diminish with ice, rest and a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory, such as ibuprofen, naproxen or aspirin, contact your doctor for assistance.
