Personal Trainer
Improper technique can lead to injury

QUESTION: I read your article about working with muscle pain.

About a year ago I noticed pain in my right shoulder while doing behind the neck lat pull downs. Today the pain is much greater. Do you recommend exercising this shoulder to relieve the pain? Thank you for any help.

ANSWER: Most cases of shoulder pain occur in weight rooms and gyms across the country because of improper lifting form or technique. Your case is an example of this because the lat pulldown is often done in a manner that may cause or reaggravate shoulder pain.

Pulling the bar behind your head sometimes places your shoulder capsule in an awkward position by forcing your elbows behind you thus increasing stress to the shoulder joint rather than the Latissimus Dorsi muscle. Doing the exercise in that manner jams your upper arm bones into the shoulder socket, thus placing your rotator cuff muscles in harm's way. People also get injured pulling the bar too low as well. To avoid injury and ensure resistance to just the muscle:

Sit up tall, grab the bar at a slightly wider than shoulder width grip, slowly pull the bar until your elbows come down to a 90-degree angle (only lean far back enough to avoid hitting your head with the bar). As you pull the bar down, don't rock back and forth and keep your elbows a tad bit in front of you, so as to avoid stressing the joint and repeat.

Try 1-to-3 sets of 8-to-15 repetitions depending on the weight you choose. But before you start lifting, get clearance from your doctor so as to make sure there is no serious damage to your shoulder. Proper form will increase results and decrease your chances of getting injured.

Dave Patania, a certified personal trainer, welcomes your questions. Send them to Personal Trainer, The Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. Or e-mail davpatania@aol.com.