Pinching in Your Shoulders with Overhead Stretch?

Shoulder impingement is a misalignment of the shoulder socket joint that results in soft tissue getting pinched between two bones. The short-term symptom is an unpleasant pinching feeling when lifting your arms out to the sides or overhead. If the misalignment isn’t corrected the bones can gradually wear down the tissue resulting in a more serious injury.

If you address shoulder impingement early it’s no big deal. It can be a gentle warning sign that your shoulders need some attention to balance out the muscles for smoother movement mechanics.

However, if you decide to “push through the pain” and ignore the cry for help from your shoulder joint you may end up with an injury that could take months to heal. Some tears even require surgery.

So let’s talk about the warning signs for shoulder impingement and what to do if you feel the pinch!

Where Does Shoulder Impingement Happen?

Shoulder impingement is the pinching of soft tissue between the top of the humerus and the underside of the acromion process (shoulder socket). The most common injuries are to the tendon of the supraspinatus muscle or to the bursa, which is the smooth lining of the joint.

You will feel the pinching it the outside or front of the shoulder joint, usually when lifting the arm or when the arm is extended overhead as with a shoulder stretch or straight arm hang.

A mild shoulder impingement can create a little irritation in the soft tissue. A serious impingement left unaddressed can cause a full tear of the tendon or a large rip in the bursa, both of which require surgery.

What Causes Shoulder Impingement?

The shoulder joint is designed for maximum movement. That mean that the shoulder socket is very shallow since a deep socket, like the hip, allows for less range. The shoulder also gets the majority of its overhead movement from the upwards rotation of the shoulder blade.

For more details on shoulder joint mechanics check out this post.

The majority of the shoulders’ stability comes from the muscles themselves. The four rotator cuff muscles are able to work together to hold the arm bone in alignment while moving. They hug the muscle on three sides (no rotator cuff muscles attach below the head of the humerus) and, when they are strong and coordinated, they act in concert to keep the humerus centered no matter what the shoulder decides to do.

To nerd out on the importance of the rotator cuff check out this post.

The rotator cuff also has to coordinate with all of the bigger muscles that affect the shoulder like the deltoids, pectorals, latissimus dorsi, biceps, triceps, and more. Because shoulder movement is a precise coordination between 4 joints and 20+ muscles, we have to be very careful to make sure that all the muscles are working together as a team. This is especially true when you are learning a new skill or increasing the muscle load or range of motion.

Sometimes those muscles don’t work together and the arm bone may start to move out of alignment.

A common misalignment occurs when the humerus, instead of gliding as the arm lifts, rolls up and slightly out of the socket. This is problematic because there is a tendon that runs just above the humerus and through a little channel just below the bone of the acromion process. It’s a narrow hole in the best of situations and when the arm bone is out of alignment it becomes too narrow and the tendon gets smooshed.

The humerus can also rise up and grind the delicate, smooth surface of the bursa against the acromion process, causing it to wear down or tear.

What to Do When You Feel a Pinch in Your Shoulder

The most important thing you can do if you feel a pinching in your shoulder when you are doing something is to STOP DOING THE THING! Sorry to yell, but this is so important. Do not ignore this important warning sign until it is too late and you have a more serious injury that requires medical intervention.

You don’t have to stop doing the thing forever, but you do have to take some time to stabilize your shoulders. You may need to do some sleuthing. Are your shoulder blades not moving enough? Are they moving too much? Are you super tight in your pecs? Are your rotator cuff muscles sadly neglected?

There are so many potential ways that a shoulder can be out of whack so you may need to see a good physio or coach who can help you figure it out. Finding the proper exercises and taking a little time (give it at least a couple of weeks) means that you can return to the activities you love even stronger and more of a badass than you were before.

If you are looking for a deep dive into shoulder stabilization, check out Shoulder School. I made this based on a workshop I teach for aerialists and pole dancers to prevent shoulder injury and improve performance.

For those of us that use movement not just for physical health but also for mental health, income, and overall well-being it can feel devastating to feel like you are taking a step back even for a short time. But these aren’t really steps back, they are a necessary part of training and learning, even if they aren’t the most exciting part. Listen to your body!

Happy bendings!