Why Do Overhead Athletes Develop Shoulder Pain?

Your arm feels fine during warmup, but halfway through practice, a dull ache settles into your shoulder. Soon, you are wondering what is putting so much strain on your joints, especially when these movements are a regular part of your sport.

Why do overhead athletes develop shoulder pain? Repeated motion can stress the shoulder’s stabilizing tissues faster than they can adapt. 

ChiroCare of Florida explains how this happens below. A chiropractic wellness visit can assess how your shoulder and upper back move as you throw, catch, serve, or swim.

How Repeated Overhead Motion Strains the Shoulder

The shoulder trades stability for a large range of motion. Overhead sports may push that range of motion to its limit. 

Pitchers and tennis players elevate and rotate their arms at high speed. Swimmers rotate through each stroke, while volleyball players raise it for serves and spikes. Repetitive overhead movements may help explain what causes shoulder pain in these athletes, but training load and movement mechanics influence how much stress the joint experiences.

Factors that may contribute to shoulder pain include:

• Training errors: Sudden jumps in throwing volume or practice intensity ask tissues to handle more than they have adapted to.
• Muscle fatigue: Tired muscles control the arm less precisely, so shoulder mechanics can start to change late in practice.
• Limited mobility: Restricted shoulder or upper-back movement can shift additional stress to other parts of the joint complex.
• Poor shoulder blade coordination: The shoulder blade must rotate in step with the upper arm, and weak control there can raise stress on the rotator cuff.

When fatigue and limited mobility accompany a sudden workload increase, the rotator cuff may have more difficulty keeping the upper arm steady in the socket.

Common Shoulder Injuries in Overhead Athletes

Overuse is one of several causes of shoulder pain. Rotator cuff injuries are common in overhead athletes because repeated motion can overload the muscles and tendons that steady the upper arm.

Overhead athletes can develop shoulder impingement syndrome, which occurs when the rotator cuff tendons get pinched between the shoulder bones, causing swelling and pain. A related condition, internal impingement, affects throwers when the cuff gets squeezed against the back of the socket.

Repeated motion may also cause inflammation around the shoulder joint by irritating a rotator cuff tendon or the nearby bursa, making overhead movement painful during practice or competition.

How Instability and Labral Damage Develop

Repeated throwing can gradually loosen the tissues that stabilize your joint. If the upper arm bone begins slipping partly out of the socket, you may have shoulder instability. 

In throwers, labral tears, including SLAP lesions, may develop when repeated overhead stress damages the tissue surrounding the socket. The conditions can overlap because instability may strain the labrum, while labral damage may reduce stability. A catching sensation during the throwing motion may accompany labral irritation, especially when the shoulder also feels loose or unstable.

When Shoulder Pain Is More Than Normal Soreness

Knowing how shoulder pain develops in overhead athletes helps separate soreness that eases with rest from an injury that affects strength or motion.

Several symptoms and performance changes may indicate that the shoulder needs evaluation:

• Persistent pain: Soreness that doesn’t ease between practices, or that worsens with each session
• Weakness: Lifting or controlling the arm feels harder than it used to
• Reduced range of motion: Reaching overhead or rotating the arm feels tighter than usual
• Joint noises: A painful click or catching sensation during overhead movement
• Declining throwing speed: Shoulder pain or weakness that accompanies a drop in velocity

Call 911 if shoulder pain occurs with chest pressure or trouble breathing. Jaw discomfort or pain in either arm may also signal an emergency, especially if sweating or nausea develops.

Intense pain or numbness in the arm or hand calls for prompt care. A healthcare professional can compare both shoulders and test strength and stability while noting which movements reproduce the pain. Improving technique and increasing training gradually may reduce strain, while rotator cuff and shoulder-blade exercises may build your tolerance for sport-specific workloads.

Discuss Athletic Shoulder Pain With ChiroCare of Florida

Force from an overhead throw travels from the legs through the trunk, emphasizing the importance of core stability for athletes. We address these types of issues through sports chiropractic care at our Greenacres office, whether you are managing an injury or trying to improve your shoulder and trunk control. 

To learn more about why overhead athletes experience shoulder pain, call ChiroCare of Florida at (561) 231-8333 to schedule a visit in Greenacres, Florida.