Why Do I Get Shoulder Pain When Bench Pressing?

You get under the bar, knock out your warm-up sets, and everything feels fine. Then the weight gets heavier and your shoulder starts to hurt. The pain might be in the front of the shoulder or feel deeper inside the joint. It may only show up once the weight gets heavy. Shoulder pain during the bench press is common, but that does not mean you should ignore it. It also does not automatically mean you need to stop bench pressing.

The first step is figuring out exactly when the pain happens and what may be causing it.

Where Does Your Shoulder Hurt?

When someone comes into our office because their shoulder hurts during the bench press, one of the first things I want to know is exactly where they feel the pain.

Is it in the front of the shoulder? Is it more on the side or back? The location does not give us the entire answer, but it gives us somewhere to start.

I also want to know if the shoulder hurts during other activities or if bench pressing is the only thing that causes it. Someone who can move their shoulder normally all day but develops pain during heavy bench press sets presents differently from someone whose shoulder also hurts during normal daily tasks.

When Does It Start Hurting?

Does your shoulder start hurting during the first few reps of your warm up, or does it only start once the set gets hard? A few other things we want to know is if we had an increase in our bench press volume or a change in technique. 

We also take into consideration what you have already tried to help the pain. If you have taken a few weeks to stretch the shoulder, modify your lift or take time off, all without improvement we want to know that. 

Common Reasons Your Shoulder May Hurt While Bench Pressing

There is not one cause of bench press shoulder pain.

Two of the most common things I see are problems with bench press technique and limited shoulder mobility. 

A few of the technique problems I see are not bracing the shoulder blades properly for the press, the bar path and the grip on the bar. 

Sometimes, the pain we feel in the shoulder can come from the AC joint, the bicep tendon or even the neck.

That last one can surprise people. Pain felt around the shoulder does not always start in the shoulder. The nerves traveling into your shoulder and arm come from your neck. Because of that, part of a good shoulder exam should include evaluating the cervical spine instead of only looking at the painful spot.

That is one reason simply treating the area that hurts does not always solve the problem.

You May Not Need to Stop Bench Pressing

One of the first questions lifters ask is:

“Do I need to stop benching?”

Not immediately unless there is a reason that makes continuing the movement unsafe.I prefer modifying the exercise rather than removing it. A floor press or block press can reduce the range of motion while still allowing you to train the movement.

The goal is not to avoid everything that hurts forever. The goal is to find a version you can tolerate while working on why the original movement is bothering you.

Look at Your Grip Before You Blame Your Shoulder

Your bench press grip is one of the easiest things to check today.

Pay attention to how the bar sits in your hand. I typically want the bar sitting on a slight diagonal through the hand rather than running perfectly straight across it. That small change can help place the wrist, elbow, and shoulder in a better pressing position.

Your grip width can also affect how the movement feels. There is not one perfect grip for every person. Your anatomy and mobility both play a role.

If your shoulder hurts every time you bench, changing how you hold and control the bar is worth looking at before deciding your shoulder is simply “bad.”

Slow Down Your Warm-Up Sets

Another change I like is slowing down the eccentric (lowering) portion of your warm-up sets. Instead of dropping the bar quickly toward your chest, try taking around three to five seconds to lower it. Control the movement and pay attention to how your shoulder feels.

Toward the end of the warm-up set, add a few normal-speed reps. I think of this as helping you grease the groove neurologically before the weight gets heavy. You are practicing the movement instead of simply trying to get through your warm-up.

What We Look at During a Shoulder Exam

If the problem keeps coming back, guessing at a solution becomes less useful.

When someone comes into Trademark Chiropractic with shoulder pain from bench pressing, I do not immediately assume the rotator cuff is the problem.

We work through an examination designed to narrow things down. That includes orthopedic testing to look for problems involving the rotator cuff, labrum, AC joint, or biceps tendon. We also evaluate the neck because cervical spine problems can sometimes present as shoulder or arm symptoms.

Then we look at shoulder range of motion and strength. Can you move normally? Can we reproduce the pain when testing strength near the end of your available range? The goal is to recreate the problem when possible and identify what may be contributing to it.

That gives us something much more useful than saying, “Your shoulder hurts, so stop benching.”

How We Treat Bench Press Shoulder Pain

Treatment depends on what we find during the examination. There is no single shoulder treatment that works for everyone. For the types of bench press problems we commonly see, treatment may include dry needling and Scraping (IASTM).

Rehabilitation exercises and chiropractic adjustments may also be part of the plan depending on what the exam shows. If mobility is the main limitation, the plan may look one way. If strength near the end of your available range is the bigger issue, the plan will look different.

This is why we prefer to assess, treat, and then reassess. We want to know whether what we did actually changed your movement, strength, symptoms, or ability to perform the lift.

When Shoulder Pain Needs More Attention

Most training-related shoulder pain does not require emergency care, but there are situations where you should not try to train through it.

Chest pain occurring with shoulder pain deserves immediate attention, especially if you also feel short of breath or lightheaded. A loud pop followed by immediate pain or sudden significant weakness should also be evaluated. New or worsening numbness and tingling into the arm deserves attention as well.

Pain that starts occurring during very light activity or normal everyday movement is another reason to have the problem examined instead of continually testing modifications to the movement or exercise.

There is a difference between intelligently modifying training and ignoring something that is getting worse.

Your Shoulder Hurts When You Bench. What Should You Do Next?

Start simple.

Look at your grip.

Slow down your warm-up sets.

Try controlling the lowering phase for three to five seconds.

If the movement still hurts, try a variation such as a floor press or block press to reduce the painful range or try a machine to eliminate stabilization demands on the shoulder.

Then pay attention to what happens.

If those changes help, great.

If you keep dealing with the same shoulder pain week after week, it is time to stop guessing and have someone evaluate it. You should be able to understand why something hurts and have a plan for getting back to the way you want to train.

At Trademark Chiropractic in Edmond, we work with athletes and active adults who want to keep lifting, training, and doing the things they enjoy. Our goal is not simply to tell you what you cannot do. We want to figure out what is limiting you, address it, and help you find a way forward.

Shoulder pain does not automatically mean the bench press is gone forever.

Sometimes you just need to figure out what your shoulder has been trying to tell you.