I first noticed pain in my left shoulder when I was eight months pregnant. I was 25 and had just taken a leisurely stroll with my toddler. Nothing had happened — no injury or event. The muscles just felt increasingly tight. I rolled my shoulders, practicing light stretches that had done the trick for years when I worked in restaurants. When the stiffness didn’t let up, I pivoted: We headed to the playground so I could try hanging from the monkey bars. That didn’t work, either. I went home, plugged in a heat pack and attributed the unyielding sensation to a random third-trimester ache.
