Why are there red streaks on my shoulders?

October 25, 2005 6:18 AM

What are these weird marks on my shoulders? I started a new weight training program yesterday, and now there are red streaks on my shoulders!

A trainer at my gym set up a weight training program for me, since I usually only do cardio, and yesterday I did the upper body segment for the first time. When I got home from the gym, I noticed there are bright red streaks on my shoulders, as if there is blood under the skin. It looks like a cross between bright red stretch marks and like I scratched my shoulders too rough.

I'm going to ask my trainer about it tonight but in the meantime I'm just wondering if anyone has experienced anything like this, has any clue what it's from, and whether they will go away? Thanks!

posted by catfood to health & fitness (22 comments total)

I get those all the time, have no idea what they are, and they go away painlessly and fairly quickly
posted by unixrat at 6:21 AM on October 25, 2005

Did you have any pads in contact with your shoulders? For example, I do a hard leg exercise that leaves the seam of my shirt in my shoulders from the pressure.
posted by filmgeek at 6:22 AM on October 25, 2005

What were you wearing? Maybe the fabric of your bra/tank top/straps/whatever was shifting and slightly rubbing your skin every time you raised your arms to lift, and you're just seeing chafe marks?
posted by iconomy at 6:23 AM on October 25, 2005

They are probably from standing calf raises or (maybe) squats or leg presses,* or really any excerise where there are pads on your shoulders being pressed against you really hard. They are harmless and will go away in a couple days. If you totally totally hate them you can always do an alternate form.

*I know you said it was during the upper body segment but I am positive it's the pads, that is certain.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 6:26 AM on October 25, 2005

I didn't have any pads in contact with my shoulders, and it wasn't my clothes, my shoulders were bare, and it is the outsides of my shoulders that are streaked. It's so weird & really ugly/creepy looking.

It is definitely under the skin as well...the surface of my skin is smooth, unscratched, etc, and they don't hurt at all.
posted by catfood at 6:27 AM on October 25, 2005

I think this thread deserves a picture of said malady.
posted by cincidog at 6:36 AM on October 25, 2005

Ok, when I get home I'll try to remember to take a digital picture of my freaky shoulder.
posted by catfood at 6:38 AM on October 25, 2005

Did you carry some sort of bag to the gym with you? Over your shoulder? The strap from that could do it, too.
posted by undertone at 6:42 AM on October 25, 2005

This happens to me all the time too - and I don't use machines with pads, just free weights. For a while I assumed it was the barbell leaving marks after squats etc but I don't think that's correct. What I will say is I agree with unixrat that they're harmless, painless and go away quickly.
posted by jamesonandwater at 6:42 AM on October 25, 2005

I get these a lot too. Calf raise machines, squats, or just carrying around a heavy knapsack....these are all culprits. They'll go away and won't cause you any pain. If you manage to find an explanation (and a name) for this "ailment" I'd love to hear it.
posted by Succa at 6:46 AM on October 25, 2005

I have the same thing and assumed it was from the seam of my shirt pressing against the pads rather than the onset of some strange bonus eruptus. However, if this is not the case, please post a follow-up lest I sign up for some extreme transdental electromicide.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 7:13 AM on October 25, 2005

It's just bruising. The weight of whatever you were lifting (or carrying) broke some of the capillaries just under the skin. It looks freaky because it's so close to the surface. It's not bad, and it'll go away.
posted by o2b at 7:47 AM on October 25, 2005

Ok, I just noticed that you said nothing was in contact with that area -- never mind.
posted by o2b at 7:48 AM on October 25, 2005

Well, I'm not saying I think this is some sort of magic ailment, just that it's strange...at least a couple people seem to have had this happen so I'll just see if they go away.
posted by catfood at 8:07 AM on October 25, 2005

Well, are you only doing leg exercises? Or are you doing shoulder/arm/chest training as well? If so it would indicate to me that your muscles, which may not be used to these exercises, are expanding and growing at a rate very new to them, which will cause this type of thing.

You see it in lots of athletes, especially those with the most developed shoulders and arms. I sometimes get it as well, though what I've experienced more is a slight sort of "tearing" or "stretching" of the skin that leaves a sort of ripped look to a small, maybe inch long area along the front deltoid (shoulder) area.

I wouldn't be worried about it at all, because it indicates to me that your muscles are simply growing.
posted by dead_ at 8:19 AM on October 25, 2005

Oh, and it will probably go away a day or two after the exercise is over, only to come back when you do the exercise again. Until your muscles are used to it, at least.

And it could very well be a small, popped capillary as well, which isn't much to worry about either. Just take it easy on the weights.
posted by dead_ at 8:20 AM on October 25, 2005

These appeared right after an upper body (mostly chest/shoulder/arm) workout, so you could be right. I'll take a short break, esp since I'm doing lower body today anyway. Thanks!
posted by catfood at 8:23 AM on October 25, 2005

It would indicate to me that your muscles, which may not be used to these exercises, are expanding and growing at a rate very new to them, which will cause this type of thing.

This was the first time she lifted upper body. The type of muscle growth necessary to cause stretch marks does not take place immediately. Also, these types of stretch marks are usually not red.

And it could very well be a small, popped capillary

The color sounds right for this but the only people I have ever seen break capilaries were lifting tremendous weight; I doubt she was lifting extreme weights in her first weight training session.
posted by probablysteve at 10:23 AM on October 25, 2005

I get this on my chest after workouts. I had assumed it was because of rubbing against the pad of some machine or other (probably the seated row, given where the marks are).
posted by LGCNo6 at 11:38 AM on October 25, 2005

I get this after squats & machine calf raises. If you've been doing bench stuff, it might be that you're arching your back and pushing your shoulders into the bench.
posted by devilsbrigade at 12:54 PM on October 25, 2005

probablysteve - they were extreme to me ;-)

whatever, thanks for your thoughts & suggestions. i'm now totally embarrassed about even asking about this, so i'm just going to wait & see if they go away.
posted by catfood at 1:49 PM on October 25, 2005

i just wanted to say don't be embarrassed! my husband had this exact same thing happen to him after a particularly intense workout. it wasn't a huge amount of weight, it was just more than he was used to. i saw them on his shoulders and got freaked out. his skin was smooth, not scratched or indented from pads or rubbing of any kind. it was internal. i think it was the popped capillaries that someone mentioned earlier. it did go away, and it didn't hurt him. :)
posted by rio at 11:20 PM on October 25, 2005