Shoulder injury. Feeling constantly tired

i'm not a doctor but shoulders have proven to be the weakest link in my chain, so i know something... first : go to your doctor and ask for a good shoulder-specialist in your area, go to the shoulder specialist, and then most probably he will make a diagnosis and send you to some physiotherapist to learn some specific exercises. It is a pain in the ass but it is worth it because a good physiotherapist can make you almost totally independent in managing shoulder issues like the ones you seem to be describing.  Prepare mentally to make "shoulder healt" activities a regular part of your training (like 10-15 minutes at the end of every session/climb). then. shoulders are a complicated and delicate joint. To allow for a great range of movements, they are "designed" in a more unstable way than other joints in your body, and what keeps them together is muscles and muscle/fibrous tissues (sorry doctors if i am not right in the terms). Great range of movement does not mean, unfortunately, that any possible movement you can do without dislocating is 100% safe.   In fact, there is more or less a correct "neutral" posture and a correct way of reaching, pulling, etc. Your brain and muscles are programmed to know this correct way, but it is a fragile equilibrium. It is enough that you slightly hurt one of the many muscles/tendons interacting in the shoulder, or that you alter your posture, or that you get too strong in some muscles of that area but not in the others, and the equilibrium is lost. The result can be of several kinds : -your body is not able anymore to correctly move the end of your homerus inside the joint. You are not able to do some movements without that slight cracking/popping feeling -due to bad posture, some tendons get unnaturaly squashed between your homerus and a small bone called acromion : thus they get inflammed and painful (and as a reaction you develop an even poorer posture) -the muscles/fibrous tissues that hold everything in place get too stretched, the articulation becomes loose and you might be prone more easily to dislocations. if you do not do exercises aimed at re-programming your shoulder to move in the correct way (and keep doing them for prevention later) you have small chances of solving this kind of things permanently. The exercises are not trivial and involve a great deal of "feeling" the correct movement, this is why you should learn them from a therapist who detects errors and corrects you, while a DIY approach is not likely to work. the modern kind of dynamic, athletic climbing is very hard on your shoulders and in fact shoulder injuries seem to be the latest trend (chris webb-parsons, ethan pringle, patxi usobiaga, beth rodden...)...once you have solved your problems, keep doing the exercises you learned for prevention. Also, try to avoid as much as possible hanging from totally straight and tension-less arms, it makes the joint loose and can cause micro-injuries. Keep some tension in your armpit-scapular region at all times, you can rest those muscles by alternating hands on the hold. Similarly :  Whenever you swing your feet, try to do it with partially locked arms, try to control the swing instead of being totally passive. If you have a no-swing beta, prefer it. Avoid swinging on one arm as much as possible, and if you really have to, keep your arm as locked as possible and let go the hold if you feel close to totally open it. Develop body tension to avoid loosing your feet on overhangs. If you make a dyno where you have no choice but cutting your feet loose, never aim at getting the hold arm-straight, lock off a small bit as soon as you get it. Always stretch your biceps and pectorals, it helps good posture. good luck (pectoral stretch : put yourself in front of an open door, hands up and elbow bent at 90°, place your elbows, forearms and hands on the door frame, then lean forward. do it often when your shoulder hurts, it relieves the pain a bit)

Hi Elvind Gianluca has got most of it right The crutial part is to seriously start to workout the rotator cuff- consult a sports physiotherpist. You also seem to be able to benefit from improved cirkulation in your shoulder area along with muscle tension rlaxation-try Kayaking and/or armcrankingcykle and (from the same physiotherapist) learn and ptayise stretching the rotat cuff muscles and the latissimus Dorsi (the big back muscle) Give it a go and your problems will most likely pass best of luck Björn

hey, i've got a tendinosis/right shoulder...      the big question : since we are often said that tendinosis tend to "never heal"..              IS IT WORTH CUTTING BACK ON CLIMBING FOR A LONG TIME?             

Not really A full cut back for up to 3 weeks followed by sucessively harder climbing, starting of real easy and slowely cranking it up - How to exactly do this need to be established by the physician you consult Björn

Thanks for your answers, very helpful

The physiotherapist told me I had hypermobile joints and I'm due to this are more prone to damage when climbing hard than others. He's given me a training schedule for my arms, so I'm hoping this will resolve many future pains :) I'd recommend seeking help if you have similar problems, you get a good overview on the anatomy of your injured joint.