Mystery Shoulder Issue?

[BritWalkerJumper]

It's strange, and although I have very few symptoms to explain, I'll exhibit them as is.

I do track competitively and whenever I used to go on long spouts of running (or anytime I use it essessively, like in racewalking) it begins to bother me. Anyways, my shoulder doesn't appear to be swelling, and I've had this ever since I began competitive track and field.

Lately, though, every morning when I wake up, my shoulder is killing me. The mattress I sleep on is rather firm, but I hardly sleep on my side. Any ideas?

[Heidi]

I need some more information. When you say its killing you, where is the pain exactly and what kind of pain would you describe it as?

Is it stiff in the mornings? Does it get better as the day goes on?

Do you get any other symptoms? Pins and needles? numbness? weakness? etc

[BritWalkerJumper]

It's towards the front of the shoulder, like between where the collarbone meets the shoulder. As far as the kind of pain, it feels locked, and hard to move, and comparable to a bad cramp. It's a bit stiff in the morning, but it gets better as the day goes on, eventually to where it doesn't hurt at all. When I go to practice, it aches when I run and limits the range of motion. Once I stop, it's fine after an hour or so. Sometimes when I lean forward to lay on my stomach, it cramps up...

[Heidi]

Where you are describing the pain is around the area of the ac joint. This is where the clavicle (collar bone) joins the acromion process of the scapula (forward protruding bit of the shoulderblade).

Have you injured this area before, or was there a fall or impact before the pain started? Normally injury to this joint is caused by an incident, rather than gradually coming on.

The fact that it is stiff and painful in the mornings indicates that there is inflammation present. With this in mind, I would recommend icing the joint (15 mins) when it hurts and after training. Also ibuprofen can be useful to calm this down (if in America you may need a prescription for this).

Other than this I think you need to visit a specialist who can fully assess the joint to see whats happening. If there was no incident then it may be a complex muscle imbalance issue.