squatting + shoulder

[super_rice]

i just read the article about the top squat thing, so apparently shoulder problems with holding the bar while squatting is not a new problem.

my problem:
after a while, the pressure builds cause i'm holding the bar on my shoulders. it's very freaky, my left arm starts GOING NUMB. i get a tingling feeling like my arm has fallen asleep.

the past few days (yesterday i squatted again), the tingling feeling has not gone away, it's stayed in my left arm. it receeds down into my pinky when i'm not squatting. when i am, it's up around my biceps and rear delts.

i check my form and everything, the bar is straight and it is below my neck in mid-traps range, so form is good.

any ideas? should i stop squatting? the tingling feeling is there right now and i'm getting worried, it's been there for about three days.


getting one of those easy squat bars or top squat things is out of the question for me, as i have a hard enough time having access to a power rack.

 

[forty-six & 2]

you could be aggravating a spinal nerve some where between your shoulder and its insertion through the vertabrae.

 

[super_rice]

i thought it may be something like this. i tried using a pad on the bar and everthing. nothing seems to work. the pad makes it less painful, but actually increases the numbness. probably because i have to reach back futher..

 

[Dave949]

Yeah.... it doesn`t sound like the bar pressure against your skin that is causing it but the postion of your arms/shoulders while holding the bar is pinching a nerve. Try holding the bar at different arm lengths. ex: hold the bar as close as you can to your shoulders and as wide as you can and a place in between wide versus narrow grip. Experiment with your hand grip/placing.

You can also give front squats a try....................

 

[coolcolj]

get bigger traps

 

[Naeem]

I have really shitty shoulders, left one dislocates and stuff if I put on too much pressure from the wrong angle, have to be very careful squatting and doing basically anything that puts on weird angles of pressure, like when squatting.

It just hurts, and the muscles cramp on a regular squat on my left shoulder. I keep a wide grip, it alleviates the problem to a certain degree, on some days. Short grip on a squat = world of pain. Some days it just totally kills even on wide grip. I find stretching and warming up shoulders helps some.

I get a different problem on front squats, the right shoulder will hurt for a few days after, not the sore muscle kind of hurt, the 'something just scraped my bone with a pick hurt' type of feel. Wearing a thicker shirt helps I find, so the bone contact is less with the steel when trying to front balance.

Just have to rough squat days for me heh.

 

[super_rice]

thanks for the info guys.

Yeah.... it doesn`t sound like the bar pressure against your skin that is causing it but the postion of your arms/shoulders while holding the bar is pinching a nerve. Try holding the bar at different arm lengths. ex: hold the bar as close as you can to your shoulders and as wide as you can and a place in between wide versus narrow grip. Experiment with your hand grip/placing.

You can also give front squats a try....................

i've tried holding the bar with a wider grip, which has not helped. i will try putting the bar higher or lower to see if it helps.

is this nerve pinching something dangerous? or is it just a temporary problem?

 

[super_rice]

^ bump

 

[NYBodyguard]

thanks for the info guys.



i've tried holding the bar with a wider grip, which has not helped. i will try putting the bar higher or lower to see if it helps.

is this nerve pinching something dangerous? or is it just a temporary problem?

i have the same prob where my left hand feels like it fell asleep, had this for over a year now it goes away 5 mins after the workout.

 

[super_rice]

no problems at all afterwards? no tingling for example?