Exercising is a great way to keep yourself in good shape and in good spirits. Though it may seem uncommon, upper-body injuries occur more frequently than you may expect. The causes of this can stem from posture to muscle weakness. To learn more about potential causes and how to prevent shoulder injuries while running, continue reading.

Aches and pains seem to come and go as you run, but usually, you don’t expect them in your upper body. However, shoulder pain when running is more common than you might think.

After all, running is a full-body movement, and when you’re running, you’re not only engaging your legs but also activating your arms and shoulders. Running is a dynamic movement that calls upon multiple muscle groups.

Your shoulders may not be at forefront of the force like your feet, calves, knees, and hamstrings are, but they still have significant force transference through them.

There are several tips that can help prevent your shoulders from hurting as you run; we’ll look at each one in-depth and get you back running pain-free.

Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of why you may have shoulder pain when running.

In this article, we are going to cover the following:

Why Does My Shoulder Hurt When I Run?
4 Causes Of Shoulder Pain When Running
4 Common Shoulder Injuries
Effective Treatment And Prevention Of Shoulder Pain When Running

Why Does My Shoulder Hurt When I Run?

First of all, it is important to differentiate between shoulder pain which hurts when you run, and shoulder pain, which ONLY hurts when you run.

If your shoulder pain is consistent throughout the day, irrespective of whether you have gone for a run, the scope of possible causes is vast. There will be a crossover, but today we’re primarily focusing on shoulder pain that is caused by running.

Upper body locomotion is immense when running, with shoulder pain most often related to running form, good posture, and shoulder strength.

As a general rule, try to avoid hunching, slumping, tensing, and swinging your arms across your body.

4 Causes Of Shoulder Pain When Running

#1: Tension In The Upper Body

It’s easily done. Most of us work jobs that require us to sit for long hours, so it’s easy for our shoulders to creep up. The muscles get used to a slight state of contraction and can remain tight when we run.

Try and relax them right now. Were they tense? Mine were.

Relaxing the upper body isn’t as easy as it sounds on paper. It requires repetitively checking ourselves, and over time we will start to see changes.

Before you head out on your next run, make sure you warm up. Include some shrugs and shoulder swings to get the trapezius and deltoids active and loose. 

Pay particular attention to your body at the latter portion of a long run or during your hard efforts; it is easy to inadvertently tense your upper body at these points.

Muscle tension is essential; it’s what keeps us standing! However, holding excessive tension in our shoulders will eventually cause them to fatigue and tighten, leading to soreness.

Here are a couple of pointers for your next run:

• Shoulders relaxed with your shoulder blades back and down
• Chest up and proud
• Eyes forward
• Head over the neck, neck over the chest, chest over hips, hips over feet
• Arms swinging next to your body
• Fists loosely clenched (pretend you are holding potato chips between your thumb and fingers, which you do not want to break!)

 

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Original article published on marathonhandbook.com