Shoulder/Traps help

[Drexl]

Suffered with knots in my traps and down around my shoulder blade for as long as I can remember. Wondering if anyone has any idea how to fix this?

I know it’s down to weakness, as it’s only on the left side. Driving me up the wall. Will have to get to the doctors unless the wise smb can help.

 

[oROSSo]

I had pain in my left shoulder for ages, there's a physio in my gym (Regen in Ultraflex Durham) who I went to see who diagnosed it as a weak point right at the bottom of my trap on the left hand side causing issues further up and into my shoulder. Had some treatment and gave me exercises to do, hasn't half sorted it out mind so I'd recommend going see someone if you can

 

[Drexl]

I had pain in my left shoulder for ages, there's a physio in my gym (Regen in Ultraflex Durham) who I went to see who diagnosed it as a weak point right at the bottom of my trap on the left hand side causing issues further up and into my shoulder. Had some treatment and gave me exercises to do, hasn't half sorted it out mind so I'd recommend going see someone if you can

Cheers for that. Will 100% be going to see a doctor/physio.

 

[Yahrba]

Suffered with knots in my traps and down around my shoulder blade for as long as I can remember. Wondering if anyone has any idea how to fix this?

I know it’s down to weakness, as it’s only on the left side. Driving me up the wall. Will have to get to the doctors unless the wise smb can help.

I had one for ages neck and trap on the left side kept spasming. As you say drives me up the wall.
Few physios looked at it , short term relief due to massage etc but very easily still triggered .
I was on holiday in thailand and saw this old thai bloke doing physio/ massage down near the beach. He told me hes not a masseuse hes medical and showed me some certificates . Anyway it was jipping me so i thought why not .
He put me through through hell, was literally punching my muscles at one point, only time ive ever tapped out ( briefly ) under physio .
At the end he pointed to my upper left lat region prodded it and simply said " knott" .
That was that, one shot, gone after about 2 years of hell.

 

[Thurston]

Suffered with knots in my traps and down around my shoulder blade for as long as I can remember. Wondering if anyone has any idea how to fix this?

I know it’s down to weakness, as it’s only on the left side. Driving me up the wall. Will have to get to the doctors unless the wise smb can help.

Know this post is from a year and a half ago, but it’s quite a common issue, and bizarrely, the answer to this is that it’s often not due to a problem with the shoulder region.

Often it’s driven by a weakness/deficiency somewhere else in the posterior chain which the shoulder and upper back region ends up overcompensating for (this’ll become particularly noticeable if you’re weight training).

Probably a good way to find out where that issue might be would be to make a couple of video of yourself doing moderate deadlifts from a few different angles (don’t go overboard, bands are useful too if you have them) and suss out the point in the lift where you’re actually struggling most… if it’s from the floor, it’ll be because you have weak hamstrings or glutes and that’ll be the region you either have to focus on strengthening, or go get some physio on. Further up, it may actually be the case the problem is emanating in the lower back. It’s rarely ever the upper back and shoulders themselves though, which for most gym goers, are if anything, likely massively overtrained through pressing movements and lat pull-downs etc.

Physio aside, it’s worth checking out some books/videos by Dr. Kelly Starett, particularly “Becoming a Supple Leopard: The Guide to Resolving Pain.”