I've been going to a personal trainer for the past few months. Training is good but about every months or so my left shoulder feels like it is about to do something un natural.  

There is a ton of pain and I can not lift the arm very well. It feels like it is deep in the shoulder tword the back of my body, maybe an inch or so from the edge of the shoulder blade and inside an inch or so.  I can occasionally hear/feel popping there also.

The GD question would be "Am I gonna die?" But since this is the fitness forum - any clue as to what is happening and how I can straighten it? I was about to call my orthopedist today.

The trainer had me roll on the wall with a hard ball pressed against it to work it out.

Take this advice with a grain of salt.

The rotator cuff seems to get blamed for everything, but this may actually be a a case of a weak rotator cuff, which consists of four tiny muscles that are normally undeveloped. I would take a break from the movements that aggravate your condition and let it heal up (assuming you don't have a serious tear requiring surgery). Then, I would incorporate rotator cuff stretches before you do any of the exercises that were causing you pain. I'd also throw in some high rep low weight rotator cuff exercises. For example, internal and external rotations, cuban press rotations, etc. There are plenty of them on the internet. Also, here is Doggcrapp's shoulder cure.

Once your rotator cuff is stronger, you can slack off or drop those remedial exercises, since this weak link in the chain will no longer be the limiting factor. If your problem is somewhere else, then you need to repeat this process by identifying the problem body part and finding the remedy (which could be a matter of cutting out certain exercises, adjusting your form, and so on). I find there is normally a difference between the pain of healthy lifting and the pain of damaging your future.

Dibs on guns and ammo.
....and in for answers because I've been having this problem too with all the snow removal I had to do this winter.

I've had both of my shoulders operated on. Rotator cuff surgery on both, with torn labrum and spurs on both.

Id go to an ortho doctor. But your best bet is to stay away from the things that hurt for now. Its hard, and the shoulder is one of the joints that you really forget about sometimes. I have a torn labrum on my left shoulder right now, every once in awhile I will forget and grab something as its falling or such and it kills me.

I'm sure the doc will try PT first. But if you have a little time, buy some bands and look up shoulder strengthening exercises online. You can easily bulk up around the tear if you take the heavy stuff off the workout plan for a bit.

Thanks guys!

Yours doesnt sound like it, but a lot of shoulder pain/injuries turn out to be bicep tenon issues from where the tendon ties in to the shoulder

Google supraspinatus images and tell me if the location of the muscle matches up with the location of the pain.

Thanks for that. Looking at pictures it looks to be in that area but more in the coracoid area - but it feels joint/bone/something else related as opposed to muscle As I mentioned earlier this has happened before.

I think I am going to get it checked out by an ortho doc. I am of an age where stuff is starting not to recover as well as it used to.

I was able to see a PA today.  They did X-rays and physical exam.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoulder_impingement

Just go to an ortho doc (if you can afford it) and ask for an MRI to be done...You'll have an answer sooner rather than later that way.

I've been dealing with shoulder issues for the past ten months now.  Ortho guy I was seeing is kind of an asshole and didn't really believe I had any issue at all until I pressed to have an MRI performed.  The findings were that I have what is called "Distal Clavicle Osteolysis" and something called "Mild Subscapularis tendonitis with low grade interstitial tearing".  

It's gotten better but I still have issues and have adjusted my workout routine accordingly, which basically means using lighter weights and keeping certain movements to a minimum.

As far as PT goes, I went for a little while, and all it did was suck money out of my bank account, so I simply can't recommend that route.

If mine gets worse I may try and find a doc who will go in and fix things, but I can't afford the downtime that surgery brings.  For now the pain and discomfort is more manageable than it had been...

I have had joint/ligament issues for a while but have not needed surgery (patellafemural syndrome, sport injuries, etc.).  Solid PT routine will help in the long run, but to help fight inflammation without taking a ton of pills I have been using Chaos and Pain's Olympus Helios.  Took about 3 days to really kick in, but I take it daily and have noticed a dramatic decrease in my pain and soreness.  I used some of their other products and was thoroughly impressed and decided to try out their full line and have yet to be disappointed.  I'll admit it doesn't smell great, but it tastes pretty good and definitely works for me...plus I am not worried about destroying my liver and kidneys.

unfortunately the xrays really don't help much. Usually an MRI is call for. Take your arm and bend the elbow at 90 degrees then try to move the forarm squared off with the body. Does it hurt in the back of the shoulder? Now still keeping you upper arm straight rotate the forearm down. Does it hurt now?

The pain was mainly when raising the arm. If bent at elbow and I raised the arm to be out/parallel with the floor it would be in pain. He pretty much put his finger straight on the pain point. Everything seemed to hurt earlier but a that point he localized it to the front instead of back.

The PA said upfront that they were conservative with treatment. He had me hold the arm in all different ways and had me press against his arm , etc to check resistance/strength.

I have instructions on exercises to do over the next few weeks and then they will re-evaluate with additional tests(MRI) and other treatment.

Thanks everyone for the comments.

I have a false joint in my shoulder due to a badly degraded labrum and then a failed surgery to fix it. So unfortunately I've learned a lot about it.

I got this everytime I did incline dumbell presses. Hurt like a bitch on that arm, and felt like I was going to drop the weight.