I'm in really good shape but I frequently experience shoulder pain. The pain varies but ranges from a medium sharp pain while incline pressing to acute pain that won't let me raise my arm laterally. I take lots of ibuprofen and alternate ice and heat to no avail. I have given it rest but the dull part of the ache persists. Could this be a rotator cuff injury, or bursitis? Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, bobbie

Well bobbie, we have a tough situation here. It's impossible, based on the location of the discomfort you describe, for me to guess whether it's bursitis or a rotator cuff injury or if something else is going on.

While I hate to tell anyone not to exercise, I think you should consider dropping any exercise that aggravates your shoulder, at least for now. Incline pressing certainly puts a lot of stress on your shoulders. Maybe you should do flat bench presses or use a chest press machine instead of doing the incline press. I would avoid letting my elbows drop below the bench. Lateral raises are very intense, specific movements. I would leave them out for a while.

First, see which exercises aggravate your shoulder at your normal resistance. Then reduce the resistance on all of your exercises, and see which ones aggravate your shoulder at the lower intensity. Avoid all exercises that aggravate your shoulder.

Try icing your shoulder and taking ibuprofen before you work out, not just after. That may help a little with soreness. You say you give it rest, I wonder how much? It sounds like you work out frequently. Taking a week off from working out may seem like a lot of time off, but it's barely the beginning. For you, taking it easy may mean laying off for a week, but what you may really need are several weeks off instead. Trying to train "through the pain" could be a mistake. Soft tissue injuries become more prevalent and they take longer to heal as we get older.

If laying off certain exercises doesn't work, you'll have to see a physical therapist or orthopedic surgeon about the shoulder. Some ailments may only show up on an MRI.

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