My shoulder snaps and pops and I hear clicking … why?
Snapping shoulder
Shoulder snapping or popping is a very common issue— it is so common that this is one of the most frequently searched topics on my website. I see between 5-10 patients a week who are simply in my office because the want to know – Why my shoulder snaps and pops?
The shoulder is a very complex joint composed of bone, cartilage, ligaments, tendons, and two different linings we call the synovium and the bursa. For more information on the anatomy or structures of the shoulder check out this section on shoulder anatomy. If any of these structures are injured, the smoothly functioning shoulder can pop, snap or click. These “injuries” can be simply due to everyday use, chronic repetitive stress of sports or because of a significant trauma, fall or accident.
Should I be worried if my shoulder pops?
Most of the time the clicking or snapping is due to everyday use and changes that occur naturally within our joints. As we age this causes some of the surfaces to roughen —thus when they rub against one another they will snap click or pop within the shoulder. In the vast majority of circumstances snapping or clicking within the shoulder is not an issue to worry about, nor is it a problem you need to worry about. There are many different tissues in our shoulder that can click or pop as they roll on one another. Painless clicking and popping usually does not require any treatment at all.
Clicking or popping in shoulder may also start immediately, or soon after an injury. That does not necessarily mean that you have sustained a “significant” injury. It usually means that the tissues inside the shoulder are swollen or inflamed from the injury, and they are clicking or catching and popping as they move against the other structures in the shoulder.
There are a few times when popping or snapping in particular (not clicking) could signify a problem. If your shoulder was injured and is now sliding in and out of place (instability), it may snap or pop. If the rotator cuff was injured or torn, or if the labrum of the shoulder was torn (see the shoulder anatomy video) your shoulder may also snap or pop.
Painful clicking or popping of the shoulder.
If you have painful popping or snapping of your shoulder, then there are many possible reasons why…..
Some conditions that will make a shoulder snap or pop include:
Labral Tears or SLAP lesions :
The shoulder is similar to a golf ball sitting on a golf tee. Imagine that the golf tee has a rubber washer sitting around the edge. That is exactly what the labrum is in the shoulder. It is a rim of tissue around the socket of the shoulder. It serves as an attachment for the ligaments, and it helps the ball of the shoulder stay in position. If the labrum or cartilage in the shoulder is torn a result of a single traumatic event or repetitive stress (pitching), then it may be separating from the bone or becoming caught in shoulder and causing a pop or a snap.
- This is a picture showing a labrum tear with exposed bone. The metal probe is resting on the labrum.
This is the same labral tear once it has been repaired and stitched back to the bone.
Rotator Cuff Tears
If the rotator cuff tendons are injured then there is a loose edge within the shoulder that can catch on other ligaments or structures in the shoulder. This may lead to painful snapping or popping too.
Instability (subluxation or dislocation)
If the shoulder ligaments were injured from an acute injury or from repetitive stress, the shoulder may have become loose and is dislocating. This can lead the ball of the shoulder to slide up or over the edge of the socket. When the ball then falls back into place it may cause snapping or popping. This section on shoulder dislocations delves further into detail on shoulder instability.
Loose bodies or debris
This is the picture of a loose body in the shoulder and can serve as an obvious case of popping or catching.
Arthritis
Arthritis, by definition is the loss of cartilage or the cushioning on the ends of our bones. If the cartilage is rough, thinning or absent, the surfaces of the shoulder will be rough and causing clicking, snapping and popping.
Notice that the cartilage here is literally peeling off the bone underneath. These flaps or pieces can cause clicking and popping.
Rest assured that the vast majority of shoulder snapping or clicking is *normal*. If you have pain, or if you are concerned –or certainly if your snapping or popping started after an injury — an evaluation by a sports medicine trained orthopedist may be able to put your worst fears to rest.
Video on Causes of Shoulder Snapping or Popping
What about if somebody has had a torn AC in the shoulder and dislocated shoulder? Because now after my injury every time I work out I have a painful pop in my shoulder and also I some mobility issues with it, for example bringing bench press all the way down to my chest is near to impossible for me and if I do it feels as if my shoulder will pop out at any given moment. Do you have any advise, for a 18 year old on what is the best fix/ help the problem?
Dylan… if your shoulder feels unstable and you have a history of a prior shoulder dislocation, you should consider seeing a sports medicine doctor who specializes in the treatment of shoulder issues. Once the source or reason for your dislocation and current apprehension is determined, you can then talk about the alternatives available to alleviate the problem.
Good Luck
Howard Luks
I never hurt my shoulder but when I was 16 my shoulder started popping extremely loud (not painful though), then as time went by I noticed the popping was softer and less rough.
Slowly, my shoulder became weaker. It’s been 5 years now since the popping started. It hardly pops now but I can’t have my arm up for more then a number of seconds before my shoulder feels too weak that I have to bring it down.
I can’t throw a ball more then a couple of times because my shoulder will be really sore the next day (and that is when the popping is more frequent).
What can it be?
I can live with not using my shoulder much (as I have these past years) but I want to know!
I would like to do boxing or tennis or baseball but having my arms up is impossible! The pain the day after is harsh.
What do you think it is??
The most common cause would be a labral tear. But you need a good exam and perhaps an MRI
I have never had a shoulder problem. I am 45 and was on a trampoline ride of sorts where you have to wear a harness around your waist and its connected to some rubber bands on each side of me. You pull on the rubber bands like a parachute cord and jump on the trampoline getting height. Anyway i never felt any pain or problem while doing this but a day or so later felt pretty sore in arms and shoulders. Once the soreness went away when i move my left arm in certain directions it feels like a pop and hurts just for that instant. It feels like a tendon or something shifts in my shoulder and only hurts when it moves/shifts slightly. I pulled my car door shut today and i felt some pain/soreness not a pop or shift just sore when pulling. It does not hurt at all while not using it. It has been a couple weeks and still the same issue. I have not taken any medicine at all. I worked out the other day and bench pressed no problem, but if i try and lift a weight from my waist keeping my arm straight and lift up to the height of my neck/ shoulder it hurts in the outside shoulder. Any ideas of what my problem is or even what i should do. Should i leave it alone for awhile and see if it goes away, take an anti-inflammatory, use heat or ice??
Any advice would be great….Thanks, Kevin
Hi,
My name is Heather and I am 25. I have never had a shoulder injury before, but for years my right shoulder has had a catch in it and pops a lot. It has progressed to the point that it catches every time I feed my son a bite of food(arm stretched straight forward) and every time I have to get something off a shelf. I have to pull my arm behind me to get it to release and then it pops loudly. This isn’t necessarily painful, just annoying when caring for my children or even grocery shopping. Any advice?
Heather… If this has persisted for a while and you are concerned… a good history and exam should be able to tell you what’s going on. I would suggest seeing a surgeon who specializes in the shoulder.
Good luck
I’m 25 and have been experiencing pain in my shoulder/biceps/triceps/chest for the past 5 years on and off. My shoulder pops when I roll it but does not hurt. If anything, it relieves the pain a tiny bit. My doctor says its normal but when the pain comes, sometimes its in my arm only or chest only. I noticed that with increased stress, the pain comes on strong. My doctor recommended doing Yoga. Should I seek another opinion?
I would continue to seek opinions until you have an answer. Painless popping at your age could be related to the labrum and/or posterior instability….
Good Luck
Howard Luks
@Dylan-
I am not s physician, but I have trained S&C at the high school level, and lifted weights and studied exercise myself for 31 years.
What I have found is that most males who regularly weight train have extreme imbalance in their shoulder development. [This is not that earth-shattering a discovery, BTW.]
With the help of your physician/medical professional, you should be able to quickly identify if this is the case for you, and establish a treatment program.
Typically, it’s not the most exciting or challenging work you do, but with consistency and a little luck, you suddenty realize, “Hey, I don’t have that shoulder pain anymore!”
Hi names Jake
Anyways I’ve read the stuff about why my shoulder could be popping and understand somewhat but my other worry is my clavicle is popping by my neck side and shoulder side so in multiple places across my shoulder…..and its on my left and right side it don’t hurt but I don’t wanna go to a doctor to spend money on something that could just be a natural thing….I could use some advice on what I should do…thanx
Sry Jake again about my popping in my shoulder and clavicle…better description it like pops on the outsides but has a like cracking mixed in with it…it has like multiple pops and cracks
Jake… There are many reasons why our joints pop and snap. Some of you have “loose” ligaments which allow your joints to slosh around and move “in and out” of place. Most of the times this is not of concern… especially if there is little or no pain associated with it.
HJL
hello. im 17 year old and when i touch my shoulder and move it in the circles i feel lots of bone movements like jumping against each other… i love to exercise because i wanna join in army next year… while exercising like doing push ups i can hear little crackling not loud… there is no pain and my shoulder is little bit weak i can hold it in the air for like 1 minute then its getting little bit tired… but there is no pain and nothing… is there a problem or is it fully normal?
It may be normal for you. Many people have loose ligaments that lead to the shoulder bones moving around more than in other people. Unless it is painful, it is unlikely to be an issue.
Dear Sir,
(Age 33) I was diagnosed for positive rotator cuff impingement on 06Feb 2013 and after getting some medical treatment by ortho they now (8 April 2013) say that I got no impingement anymore but I feel some snap and pop when I move my injured hand sideways to all the way up above my head. I am not doing any shoulder workout anymore bcoz I got little bit of swelling on the back of my injured shoulder recently. Swelling subsided after couple of days but I am confused whether I should start my shoulder therapy workout or not? Do I need another MRI to get a more clear picture? Please reply and help.
Regards,
S Rajesh Kumar
Further imaging seems like a good idea in light of the swelling and persistent painful mechanical symptoms.
Good Luck
Howard Luks
Dear Sir,
A very good morning to you. As per your advice I went to an orthoped doc and asked if I need to go for a 2nd MRI but since I didnt have any pain in my shoulder area, even when lifting my hand above head, the ortho doc advised me not to go for another MRI and gave me some prescriptions like Bravia-D, Ciplax 10, Cobadex czs (sorry I may not be 100% correct with the spelling) and a vit-D tablet. What do you think about the the above mentioned prescriptions? Is it the right kind of medicine for a rotator cuff injury to heal?
I dont have any problems or pain lifting my hand at all but still there is some cracking or snapping sound coming out from my injured shoulder when I try to do some therapy workout.
Could you please give me some idea as to what may be the reason causing such sounds.
Please reply and oblige. I shall remain thankful to you always.
Thanks and regards,
S Rajesh Kumar
Hello, I’m sixteen, I’ve just started working out again, after being inactive due to a family crisis. It’s been about a week since I started working out, and just today, I noticed that my right shoulder is off. It popped and cracked today while I was doing push-ups, and now it feels weird. There is little pain, only when I touch the area, but I feel slightly weaker in my arm now. From diagrams I’ve looked up and by touching the area, I’ve noticed that the tissue around the “acromion”, (at least I think that’s what it’s called) feels looser than the other arm.
Daniel…
There are so many reasons while a shoulder can pop and snap. Even more when you’re 16 and your growth plates are open. If you are able to work-out then continue doing so and see if your symptoms improve. If they do not improve then consider seeing an orthopedist in a few weeks.
good luck
Howard Luks
(Age 14) Everytime I move my shoulder it pops and cracks. It has been going on for quite a long time but does not hurt if I’m not involved in sports. It constantly hurts when I’m actively involved in either soccer (im a goal keeper)or softball. What should I do?
Please reply have lots of sports and need some advice before it gets worse
Thank You
Maxine… Painful snapping in an adolescents shoulder — especially for a young woman, may mean that your shoulder is loose… Perhaps it’s time to see an Orthopedist.
Good Luck.
Howard Luks