Frequency of Shoulder Pain Among Weight Lifters in Islamabad and Rawalpindi

Abstract

Background: Shoulder pain is a very common complaint in population because of shoulder joint’s extreme mobility and less stability. Weight lifting is considered as a sport in which weight lifters try to increment their muscular strength either for a competition or to maintain a healthy active life. Improper exercises or weight lifting not under the supervision of professional trainers or coaches may worsen or add to the development of glenohumeral joint hyper laxity, instability, or impingement. Moreover injuries to the shoulder are also regular among weight coaches and can be profession debilitating to those at the focused level. Objective of the study: Objective of the study is to determine the frequency of shoulder pain among weight lifters in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Methodology: A descriptive cross sectional study was done in several different gyms of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. A sample of 291 male weight lifters (age 14-55year) was recruited through convenient sampling. Prevalence of shoulder pain was assessed by self-structured Questioner in which Pain assessment was done by Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), physical function and symptoms were measured by a standard DASH Questioner. Later the data was analyzed through SPSS 21. Results: The results showed that the mean age of the weight lifters was 24 and out of 291(100%) weight lifters 23% weight lifters had shoulder pain, among which majority had mild (46.3%) to moderate level (49.3%) pain. Results also showed that weight lifters with shoulder pain had more (82%) unilateral pain than (17.9%) bilateral pain. And mean of the DASH score was 40.96, indicates that shoulder Pain among weight lifters was causing mild disability. Conclusion: It is concluded that a valuable percentage of weight lifters have mild to moderate level of dull shoulder pain. Among which majority has unilateral pain and this pain is more evident in those weight lifters who spend one hour daily in gyms and fitness centers for their workouts and do repetitive activities and work in overhead positions in there occupational settings or in their daily livings. This pain was causing mild disability in their normal functioning. Keywords: Exercise, Shoulder pain, Sports and Weight-lifting