Have you recently gone back to the gym to find that you have shoulder pain with the overhead press? Or maybe you have avoided the overhead or shoulder press for some time because every time you do it you feel a pinching pain. Even worse; maybe you are starting to feel the shoulder pain around the house with everyday activities such as reaching overhead or behind your back.
Patients reporting shoulder pain with overhead shoulder press is a very common injury. The problem if left untreated will often continue to progress until more common activities around the house become painful.
The good news is that this shoulder pain can be corrected. You don’t have to avoid overhead lifting at the gym or around the house. There is a solution to this problem, so stop avoiding overhead lifting and get you shoulder fixed. We are going to discuss three reasons you may be getting this type of shoulder pain when lifting weights overhead.
What Are The Main Causes of Shoulder Pain With The Overhead Press?
1) Rotator cuff and Scapula Stabilizer Weakness
Many people working out focus on the big muscle groups, however if you have shoulder pain with an overhead press it could simply come down to the fact you need to strengthen your rotator cuff, and scapula stabilizers. The rotator cuff is a group of muscles that acts as a major shoulder stabilizer. The cuff keeps the shoulder in the middle of the joint thus allowing you to comfortably lift overhead. The scapula stabilizers help to control the shoulder blade with lifting your arm overhead. If they do not do their job your shoulder blade will not rotate properly and result in increased pinching of the structures that go under your sub-acromial space. The rotator cuff, long head of biceps and subacromial bursae all sit under this space. With repeated overhead motion over time these structures can become painful.
2)Tight Chest Muscles Or Posterior Capsule Of The Shoulder
TIghtness in both of these structures can lead to the shoulder sitting slightly more forward causing the structures that pass through the subacromial space in the shoulder to become more compressed with overhead movement. The rotator cuff muscles, the long head of biceps and the subacromial bursae all pass through this subacromial space and can be irritated when lifting overhead because they are not in the optimal position, and a condition known as shoulder impingement can develop.
3) Poor Posture
This one is a combination of many factors. Most commonly caused from sitting long hours at a desk. Often if you do not do mobility exercises this can lead to a stiff mid back which lacks extension and tight chest muscles which pulls the shoulders forward. Sitting for prolonged periods can also lead to weakness of the muscles in the rotator cuff, scapula stabilizers, and muscles of the upper back. These factors will cause the shoulder joint to not be in the best position, so when you lift overhead you feel a pain in the shoulder.
What Is The Next Step If I Have Shoulder Pain With Overhead Press?
There are many factors which can contribute to shoulder pain with the overhead press. Often it can be a combination of the above three factors. When a good hands on physiotherapist does an assessment of your shoulder, they will thoroughly assess your shoulder to figure out what the best approach to your treatment plan is.
If you are frustrated from going to the gym and feeling pain with the overhead press, take the first step and sign up for a Free 20 minute Physiotherapy consultation with Shawn WIlliams Physiotherapy to find out how a manual therapy approach can help you get back to the gym pain free. Hands on Physiotherapy with a progressive exercise program is the best way to fix shoulder pain and get you back to the gym so that you can start lifting pain free.
