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Hi ya could anyone shed some light on the reason I suffer from rear shulder pain when running.    It seems I only get this when I have my arms raised for a certain amount of time say approx 10-15 minutes,The pain is only on one side and leaving my arms dangleing free at my side seems to help reduce the pain. thanks paul 5 miles 3 times a week

There are many, many aspects that may be involved in shoulder or neck pain while running. Is the pain on one side or both? (Often it only occurs on one side.) In Paul’s case the pain is on one side. Is the pain on your dominant side? (Side you write with or perform other activities.) Does the pain feel like it is in the shoulder or more towards the back or neck? Does the pain radiate as you run or does it remain in one place? Is it deep, dull and achy, or sharp and stabbing? Has there ever been any history of trauma to that shoulder? Since relaxing the arm reduces the pain it may be muscular in origin. If the pain is "behind" the shoulder and more towards the shoulder blade it may be due to an aggravated "trigger point" in a muscle or a weak muscle or muscle group. Pain in the shoulder may be caused by a weakened deltoid or supraspinatous muscle (anatomical lingo) Ray’s advice about relaxation is a good place to begin. You can do a simple exercise to see if your problem may be postural related. Stand in front of a mirror (full length is preferred) with you shirt off. Close your eyes and walk in place several times. Move your head around and relax, now open your eyes. You may notice that one shoulder hangs lower than the other. (usually the dominant one) If this is so you may want to try utilizing some postural exercises to help you maintain better balance. Also, strengthening the muscles in your region of complaint may be of some help. Small imbalances in posture are often overlooked in activities of daily living but when you begin applying stresses to your body such as running, it lets you know. Michael

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I and one of my running buddies have had this pain as well.  We disagree on the cause and the cure. I feel that the pain is related to diaphragm irritation which causes referred pain to the neck and shoulder (the same way a heart attack can be felt in the left arm). When I get this pain I can cure it by slow deep breaths with my arms raised above my head.  My friend (a physical medicine specialist) feels that his pain is due to posture and lack of upper body strength.  He has embarked on a training regiman of upper body weight lifting, and he feels this has helped him a lot. Good luck!

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could anyone shed some light on the reason I suffer from rear shulder pain when running. Some years ago I developed "rear shoulder pain", actually it was in the area of the shoulder blade, medically described as right scapula muscle. Ended up the cause was a compressed disc at cervical disc 6 (c-6). This put pressure on the nerve as it exited between the vertibre. The cure for me was traction at a physical therapist. John

                      ^^^^^^^ Thanks Linda; I do have ocassional pain at the back of the neck when I spend many hours at my work desk with my head tilted down while doing paperwork. Just today, I ordered a special immobilizing neck brace to see if that might help to provide intermittant relief, and possibly alleviate the shoulder blade pain. Thanks again for the idea. Would rather avoid traction if possible. Denny Anderson

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I notice similar pain around my shoulder blade but usually only after 80 minutes of LSD running.  Additional symptom is a "cruching" sensation if I massage the shoulder blade.  Degenerating cartilege? Arthritus? — Bob in Chicago – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –

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Hi ya could anyone shed some light on the reason I suffer from rear shulder pain when running.         It seems I only get this when I have my arms raised for a certain amount of time say approx 10-15 minutes,The pain is only on one side and leaving my arms dangleing free at my side seems to help reduce the pain. thanks paul 5 miles 3 times a week

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Hi ya could anyone shed some light on the reason I suffer from rear shulder pain when running.

I would also like to have a solution for the same (or similar) problem. If it weren’t for shoulder blade/neck pain during the last few miles of a long run, the run itslef would be great. Even though my legs, etc. feel fine, the shoulder blade pain can be pretty demoralizing. It  always seems to occur around 14-16 miles –  and gradually builds. Help? Denny Anderson – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –    It seems I only get this when I have my arms raised for a certain amount of time say approx 10-15 minutes,The pain is only on one side and leaving my arms dangleing free at my side seems to help reduce the pain. thanks paul 5 miles 3 times a week

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Relax.  You’re probably holding your arms up too high, or at least holding them too tensely.  You want to hold your elbows at about a 90 degree angle, and let your arms dangle freely from your shoulders.  When you run, let your arms swing ahead and back.  The only controlling you   want to do is to keep your hands from crossing over the middle of your body; that is, when your arms swing forward, don’t let your hands cross past your belly button in front of you. Also, it may help to look at how you’re carrying your hands.  Try relaxing them (though you’ll probably want to keep the wrists straight to keep your hands from flopping about).   As you run faster your hands and shoulders may tense up. You may want to try making a partial fist with your thumb and forefinger, while keeping the other three fingers extended.  Keep your shoulders loose. Your biceps may get a bit sore on long runs from holding the 90 degree angle, but after awhile you won’t feel it any more.   -Ray – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi ya could anyone shed some light on the reason I suffer from rear shulder pain when running.         It seems I only get this when I have my arms raised for a certain amount of time say approx 10-15 minutes,The pain is only on one side and leaving my arms dangleing free at my side seems to help reduce the pain. thanks paul 5 miles 3 times a week

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could anyone shed some light on the reason I suffer from rear shulder pain when running.

Run on your legs, not your arms. In fact, run on your feet, not your legs. Steve. In the interests of information, I’ll also add that I occasionally get shoulder pain via running. I reckon it’s just because of the running action itself: a bit like doing loads of very light weights, maybe.

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it is probably a shoulder stitch. caused by labored breathing. the more you run the less frequent these events become.   good luck.   chad

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could anyone shed some light on the reason I suffer from rear shulder pain when running.

 Some years ago I developed "rear shoulder pain", actually it was in the area of the shoulder blade, medically described as right scapula muscle. Ended up the cause was a compressed disc at cervical disc 6 (c-6). This put pressure on the nerve as it exited between the vertibre. The cure for me was traction at a physical therapist. John

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A few months ago I asked this newsgroup the same question and this is what I told.  What you are experiencing is called a shoulder stitch. They are very similar to side stitches, but in my book they are worse. They are caused by the same reason as side stitches too.  And that is that basically, you are running too hard for your current state of fitness.  I usually get them when I start running after a long period of rest.  My advice, slow down for a few minutes and it will go away. Or, at least for me they go away.  Hope that that was of some help. Bye.

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I also get a very bad ashoulder pain but in my left shoulder. At one point I thought it was a heart attack. If anyone out there can email me with tips I can’t say how much I would appreciate it. Thanks in advance, Moise

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Try lifting weights–pullovers and lateral (shoulder) raises help, along with exercises for the rotary cuff area.  Think about the continuous back and forth motion running requires–this affects these areas specifically. I’ve used both and they help.

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most times i run i get a nasty pain in my right shoulder. it never seems to go away unless i am totally relaxed and running very fluidly with a very efficient form. sort of like the runners high zone. i just can’t seem to find a way to slip into that relaxed zone fast enough as to prevent the pain from coming on.. can anybody help me with this?? –phil–

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