Shoulder pain when reaching overhead? Where to start

Reaching for the top shelf, putting a coat on, washing your hair: when your shoulder hurts, everyday jobs like these suddenly become hard work. Shoulder pain when lifting your arm is very common, and in many cases the right training can make a real difference.

What is often going on

The shoulder is the most mobile joint in your body. That freedom comes at a cost: it relies heavily on the muscles around it, especially the small rotator cuff muscles and the muscles that control your shoulder blade, to keep the joint centred as your arm moves.

When those muscles are weak, tired or not working together well, the tissues around the joint can become irritated as you lift your arm. Common triggers include a sudden increase in use (decorating a room, a new sport, a weekend in the garden), long hours with your arms in front of you at a desk, or an old injury that never quite got its strength back.

Sensible first steps

• Don’t stop using the arm. Keeping the shoulder moving within a comfortable range stops it stiffening up.
• Change how you do the painful jobs for now. Use a step to reach high shelves, and keep heavy things close to your body when you carry them.
• Try gentle movement. Letting the arm swing gently in small circles while you lean on a table, or sliding your hand up a wall as far as is comfortable, are good places to start.
• Notice the pattern. Which movements hurt, and at what point? That information is really useful when you start training.

When to see a physio or GP first

If you can’t lift your arm at all, if the pain started with a fall or a sudden injury, if your shoulder looks out of shape, or if you have pain or pins and needles running down your arm, get it checked by a GP or physio before you start training. The same goes for a shoulder that is badly painful at night and is not improving.

How strength training helps

For most overhead shoulder pain, the long-term fix is building strength and control in the muscles that support the joint. We usually start with movements below shoulder height that don’t hurt, such as rows and rotation work with a light band, and gradually work towards lifting overhead again as the shoulder gets stronger.

The key is patience. Shoulders often respond well to training, but they don’t like sudden jumps in load. A steady plan, done consistently over several weeks, nearly always beats doing a lot for a few days and then stopping when it flares up.

Getting started

If shoulder pain is limiting you, book a free consultation. We’ll look at how your shoulder moves, find where training can start without pain, and build from there. There is more about how we work with shoulder pain on our services page.