Expert: Dr. Paul Newhart - 11/19/2009

Question
i been going to the gym for the last two years and suddenly a month ago i dont remember what excercise i did but i feel some sort of pain within my left deltoid in the front. It;s not too serious so i left it alone for th last couple of week and everytime, i do benchpress or dumbbell press it kinda hurt but not really much. I try to do push ups but i cant either. It is parallel to where the upper chest is. It also hurt when i try to rotate my arm backward. Please tell me what i can do to soothe the pain.

Answer
It sounds as if, from your description, you may have strained part of the rotator cuff.  Pain can be very great from an injury to these muscles.  I would suggest ice, 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off.  rEpeat 4 times.  Do this for 2 days, then switch to heat, at the same times.  You should notice a difference within a day or so.  If not, I would suggest utilizing a chiropractor.  They should be able to assess, treat, and rehab this, as well as determine if it is a more serious injury and refer accordingly.