Left Shoulder Pain

JMASTERJ · Jan 20, 2017

I am sure it was a problem with my form, I probably put too much weight on my left hand while shooting. I never had this left shoulder pain before, and once I discovered it, I adjusted my stance a little to put less pressure on my left hand.

Someone told me they hardly put ANY pressure on their left hand when shooting, even though every good player looks like their left arm is pretty straight, so that boggles me in how do you lean over towards the table, with your center of mass well in front of your legs/hips, and put almost no weight on your left hand, and thus shoulder?

book collector · Jan 20, 2017

JMASTERJ said:
I am sure it was a problem with my form, I probably put too much weight on my left hand while shooting. I never had this left shoulder pain before, and once I discovered it, I adjusted my stance a little to put less pressure on my left hand.

Someone told me they hardly put ANY pressure on their left hand when shooting, even though every good player looks like their left arm is pretty straight, so that boggles me in how do you lean over towards the table, with your center of mass well in front of your legs/hips, and put almost no weight on your left hand, and thus shoulder?

I think it is 100 times more likely, that you have an undiagnosed shoulder or wristproblem, that is now being aggravated, by playing pool, rather than a problem caused by arm position.
Carpal tunnel or torn rotator cuff would be the most likely.

TheBook · Jan 20, 2017

I don't put much pressure on my bridge hand or arm. My left leg is forward a little bent and my right is rather straight behind me as I bend over almost in a runners starting position.

I think if you need to put all of your weight on your hand you may not have enough core strength.

It could also be because of stiffness in your shoulder. You may need to do some shoulder, arm and neck stretching to become more flexible.

FranCrimi · Jan 20, 2017

JMASTERJ said:
I am sure it was a problem with my form, I probably put too much weight on my left hand while shooting. I never had this left shoulder pain before, and once I discovered it, I adjusted my stance a little to put less pressure on my left hand.

Someone told me they hardly put ANY pressure on their left hand when shooting, even though every good player looks like their left arm is pretty straight, so that boggles me in how do you lean over towards the table, with your center of mass well in front of your legs/hips, and put almost no weight on your left hand, and thus shoulder?

I've seen this a lot. It's a stance/weight distribution problem. You can't just change the way you lean to fix this. You have to change the position of your feet relative to the line of the shot. Study stances. There's lots of good information out there.

Fenwick · Jan 20, 2017

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Black-Balled · Jan 20, 2017

I get pretty significant bridge shoulder pain too.
I think my form is pretty textbook, but it prob looks far different than it feels.
I have found that stretching before playing definitely helps to delay the onset of pain (due to fatigue?). Problem is, i am pretty flexible and i get to the point that the muscles are all stretched out and i feel the joint structure being stressed, as opposed to the muscles.
Not sure what the solution is, but if i play all day, i am hurting there.
And as for injury to the area; i was swimming and felt a tweak in the shoulder in 2013. I probably did tear something in there, mild, but it hurt for a long time. I never went to a dr, thanks to obmbercare.

jokrswylde · Jan 20, 2017

JMASTERJ said:
I am sure it was a problem with my form, I probably put too much weight on my left hand while shooting. I never had this left shoulder pain before, and once I discovered it, I adjusted my stance a little to put less pressure on my left hand.

Someone told me they hardly put ANY pressure on their left hand when shooting, even though every good player looks like their left arm is pretty straight, so that boggles me in how do you lean over towards the table, with your center of mass well in front of your legs/hips, and put almost no weight on your left hand, and thus shoulder?

Not being nosey, but how old are you? A very large percentage of folks see some degree of arthritic change as we age. Shoulder muscles (rotator cuff) tendons run through a very small "tunnel". As your shoulder moves toward, and past, 90 degrees of flexion, that tunnel becomes even more narrow.

Unless you are getting up into 70's or 80's, any RC tear would be uncommon in the absence of a traumatic injury. However, impingement related tendinitis, bursitis, and/or postural muscle fatigue soreness are commonly the result of overuse.

A bit of free med advice that I used to tell my patients is when you get a new pain (outside of a traumatic event or injury) conservative treatment (r.i.c.e., activity modification, stretching, OTC NSAIDS if doctor allowed) is ok for a short period, but any pain that persists for more than a week or so probably deserves to be evaluated by your physician.

poolwhiz · Jan 20, 2017

I had left shoulder pain for a long time. Couldn't stretch my arm out or raise it over my head. Had a ultra-sound and found out I had 6 teard in my shoulder. Had a proceder dome called PRP(platelet-rich-plasma). Read about it .It uses your own blood. It was excrutiating pain to stretch my arm out abd to raise it over my head. It was like a miracle happened. Took about 3-4 weeks. Not that expensive.

MitchAlsup · Jan 20, 2017

JMASTERJ said:
I am sure it was a problem with my form, I probably put too much weight on my left hand while shooting. I never had this left shoulder pain before, and once I discovered it, I adjusted my stance a little to put less pressure on my left hand.

Someone told me they hardly put ANY pressure on their left hand when shooting, even though every good player looks like their left arm is pretty straight, so that boggles me in how do you lean over towards the table, with your center of mass well in front of your legs/hips, and put almost no weight on your left hand, and thus shoulder?

This is the problem!

You need to be able to raise your bridge hand from the table while in your stance.

Island Drive · Jan 20, 2017

JMASTERJ said:
I am sure it was a problem with my form, I probably put too much weight on my left hand while shooting. I never had this left shoulder pain before, and once I discovered it, I adjusted my stance a little to put less pressure on my left hand.

Someone told me they hardly put ANY pressure on their left hand when shooting, even though every good player looks like their left arm is pretty straight, so that boggles me in how do you lean over towards the table, with your center of mass well in front of your legs/hips, and put almost no weight on your left hand, and thus shoulder?

I'd do a search, there's allot of good info on your problem from prior threads within this website. I had ta quit years ago for almost a year, at a young age with the same kind of problem.

Bavafongoul · Jan 20, 2017

The Stark Reality Is This.........

Pain......did someone mention pain in the shoulder.

Not going to bore anyone with my history but needless to say,
when it comes to playing pool and shoulder pain, I occupy the
throne on that topic. 5 surgeries in 6 1/2 years & another is being
considered now which could involve an artificial shoulder replacement.

You learn to play when you can tolerate the pain and so when you can't,
you get to watch others play pool. There is no middle ground. No one cares
if you are hurting except yourself. When you miss shots because of pain, and
rest assured you will, your opponent does not care.....spectators do not care....
only you will. It's like a migraine headache.....no one can see it or feel it but
you suffer with it. When the reason for your pain is invisible to others, they
stop caring as much about your situation.......learn to live with it and whatever
you do, stop playing when it hurts....for as long as it takes.....sometimes I have
to take a week to 10 days off from playing pool even after a hour of practice.....
no one cares about your dilemma and pain except yourself.....learn to manage it.

Matt B.

brandoncook26 · Jan 20, 2017

I started having pain in my bridge shoulder shortly after I began playing pool. I had a labrum tear and needed to have surgery. I doubt that pool caused the injury but maybe just aggravated the shoulder. Chicken or the egg. Who knows.

Island Drive · Jan 20, 2017

Bavafongoul said:
Pain......did someone mention pain in the shoulder.

Not going to bore anyone with my history but needless to say,
when it comes to playing pool and shoulder pain, I occupy the
throne on that topic. 5 surgeries in 6 1/2 years & another is being
considered now which could involve an artificial shoulder replacement.

You learn to play when you can tolerate the pain and so when you can't,
you get to watch others play pool. There is no middle ground. No one cares
if you are hurting except yourself. When you miss shots because of pain, and
rest assured you will, your opponent does not care.....spectators do not care....
only you will. It's like a migraine headache.....no one can see it or feel it but
you suffer with it. When the reason for your pain is invisible to others, they
stop caring as much about your situation.......learn to live with it and whatever
you do, stop playing when it hurts....for as long as it takes.....sometimes I have
to take a week to 10 days off from playing pool even after a hour of practice.....
no one cares about your dilemma and pain except yourself.....learn to manage it.

Matt B.

Matt his concern was the game of pool created his pain.

book collector · Jan 20, 2017

Bavafongoul said:
Pain......did someone mention pain in the shoulder.

Not going to bore anyone with my history but needless to say,
when it comes to playing pool and shoulder pain, I occupy the
throne on that topic. 5 surgeries in 6 1/2 years & another is being
considered now which could involve an artificial shoulder replacement.

You learn to play when you can tolerate the pain and so when you can't,
you get to watch others play pool. There is no middle ground. No one cares
if you are hurting except yourself. When you miss shots because of pain, and
rest assured you will, your opponent does not care.....spectators do not care....
only you will. It's like a migraine headache.....no one can see it or feel it but
you suffer with it. When the reason for your pain is invisible to others, they
stop caring as much about your situation.......learn to live with it and whatever
you do, stop playing when it hurts....for as long as it takes.....sometimes I have
to take a week to 10 days off from playing pool even after a hour of practice.....
no one cares about your dilemma and pain except yourself.....learn to manage it.

Matt B.

I had a guy tell me he didn't like the look of my stroke, that I would be a better player if it wasn't so choppy.
I had already told him I had torn rotator cuff , and arthritis ,bursitis tendonitis in the shoulder lol.
You are correct , nobody cares , until it is them!

pocket · Jan 20, 2017

KNOCK ON WOOD

I was experiencing mysterious shoulder pain during and after playing. I haven't had it return since I took some lessons and had my stance adjusted. Not adjusted to relieve any pain as I never mentioned it, but it relieved the pain.

I suppose it had something to do with too much weight on my bridge hand? Who knows, just glad it's gone.

JoeyA · Jan 20, 2017

jMASTERJ,

I have had the exact same symptoms that you described.

It was with my bridge shoulder and was due to stretching my arm out and putting too much pressure on it. This caused a minor rotator cuff tear. The first therapy which lasted for about 3 weeks worked for almost 2 years but the tear came back. I realized that it may have been because at Buffalos Billiards in Metairie, they allow you to climb on the table if you have to stretch for a shot and this puts even more pressure on your shoulder so I tried to limit that and went back for some more shoulder therapy and now I have been rotator cuff tear/pain free for about a year now.

Still doing some of the exercises that therapy gave me but have left most of them behind.

Anyway, the main thing I wanted to communicate to you is that a rotator cuff tear can SOMETIMES be healed/mended over time and that "very particular" exercises for that "particular tear" can strengthen the muscles around the tear and allow the tear to heal and eliminate the pain.

Physical therapists need to know PRECISELY where the tear is located and the size of the tear. That can be ascertained by an MRI.

Good luck.
JoeyA

JoeyA

marek · Jan 20, 2017

Your symptoms are very similar to what i had been fighting last year - shoulder bursitis. Check this article: http://www.arthritis-health.com/types/bursitis/shoulder-subacromial-bursitis

Bavafongoul · Jan 20, 2017

Actually...........

My point was to the Forum......most anyone over 55 has some type of discomfort.......definitely at 65 and gosh only knows, lots of players under 50, 40, 30......
age is relative to the type and cause of the pain but without a doubt, older players are much more afflicted than younger ones.

Some posters suggested adjusting weight, another writes in that he has shoulder pain from his bridge arm, use less pressure on your bridge hand, someone else
has a player friend had hip replacement, another wrote about playing with a bad back, then there was carpal tunnel, rotator cuff (my specialty).......get the drift yet?

My post was for people that are afflicted with any discomfort and pain they cannot remedy & yet they continue to play pool. Why? It's for the love of the game.
Nothing else could compel us to voluntarily submit doing something that hurts. Usually even the dumbest animal would stop repeating an activity that hurts unless
it was for food or water. Survival trumps pain but pool is hardly needed for one's survival, albeit perhaps for the mental aspects of the game that can be a welcome distraction.

The truth be told.......pain only matters to the person experiencing it.......everyone else has a transcendental relationship with the pain your are experiencing......that's just
an absolute fact, unless you happened to be of the two fictional Corsican Brothers who mutually experienced each's other emotions and physical sensations simultaneously.
So the bottom-line is stop when the ache starts which is before pain arrives and learn to manage your condition & live with it. Might sound blunt but it's the truth...That's just life.

JMASTERJ · Jan 21, 2017

First thanks guys for the inputs to ALL of you and also making me understand this is not some weird mutant aberration.

book collector said:
I think it is 100 times more likely, that you have an undiagnosed shoulder or wristproblem, that is now being aggravated, by playing pool, rather than a problem caused by arm position.
Carpal tunnel or torn rotator cuff would be the most likely.

Fenwick said:
Kind of like the nursery rime. See below. Example. A friend with a bad back ended up with hip replacement after ignoring his back problem. Just guessing they were related. Did you do any reparative work or sports?

Well, I have had pretty much every injury you can imagine as an athlete who has played every sport and still teach and play golf and tennis among other cardio type exercises. I doubt I have a tear there since I never had any debilitating injury, but most likely arthritic or strains, possible micro-tears. I felt a little pain while playing golf a couple of weeks ago, but that was AFTER I experienced this pain while playing pool in this league for the first couple of months... i.e., the pool brought it on, the golf exacerbated it, and now the pool is aggravating it.

jokrswylde said:
Not being nosey, but how old are you? A very large percentage of folks see some degree of arthritic change as we age. Shoulder muscles (rotator cuff) tendons run through a very small "tunnel". As your shoulder moves toward, and past, 90 degrees of flexion, that tunnel becomes even more narrow.

Unless you are getting up into 70's or 80's, any RC tear would be uncommon in the absence of a traumatic injury. However, impingement related tendinitis, bursitis, and/or postural muscle fatigue soreness are commonly the result of overuse.

A bit of free med advice that I used to tell my patients is when you get a new pain (outside of a traumatic event or injury) conservative treatment (r.i.c.e., activity modification, stretching, OTC NSAIDS if doctor allowed) is ok for a short period, but any pain that persists for more than a week or so probably deserves to be evaluated by your physician.

I will mention this to my doc as I will go see one soon for 10 other problems with my body, and maybe taken x-ray and MRI as well if needed. I am soon to be 43, overall healthy, still athletic as mentioned above, but sadly I think I need to get back to not just playing golf and tennis, but also working out, lifting, and getting some cardio in, etc.... I think we as get older we dismiss the strengthening part and I think if I included some pushups, dumbbells, and other weight training, this may not be happening at all. I havent done any of that in years now, figured the sports will keep me in shape. Probably bad idea.

poolwhiz said:
I had left shoulder pain for a long time. Couldn't stretch my arm out or raise it over my head. Had a ultra-sound and found out I had 6 teard in my shoulder. Had a proceder dome called PRP(platelet-rich-plasma). Read about it .It uses your own blood. It was excrutiating pain to stretch my arm out abd to raise it over my head. It was like a miracle happened. Took about 3-4 weeks. Not that expensive.

Intriguing... I think I heard of something like this when I was giving blood a while back, where they said giving blood and platelets once a while is good for you... i wonder if that is related, like help eliminating toxins etc.....

MitchAlsup said:
This is the problem!

You need to be able to raise your bridge hand from the table while in your stance.

Well actually I have been FORCED to do this.. to me necessity was the mother of a new stance invention. There was just too much pain, so I had to stick my left leg out more forward and sit down more on my legs and basically put no pressure on my left (bridge) hand, which no one told me before. I had a playoff match today and exercise that as well as last week and I think the pain is alleviating just a bit... definitely not getting worse. Also haven't played golf in a few weeks so that helps too.

misterpoole · Oct 29, 2019

I didnt see any mention of a cortisone shot. Has that helped with shoulder pain? Its time to do something. Putting less weight on my bridge arm sounds like a good idea. It only hurts when the bridge arm is locked down in the stance.

Left Shoulder Pain

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