Help diagnose pain after OHP

[zewski]

Soreness immediately after and then intensifying the day after doing OHP, pain feels the like spine of the middle back, inside the left scapula. Can feel the pain when I tilt my head down as if looking at my feet. That shoulder is higher than my right, I would say the difference is significant. Hoping someone can tell by this description what specifically is happening and what I can do to fix this problem.

[Chris Palladino]

Hi Zewski,

What your explaining sounds like a typical tweak of one the upper back muscles. Possibly the upper trap or levator scap, as it is stretched/lengthened when looking down at your feet. And with your left more elevated than your right shoulder it leads me to think its an upper trap tweak/spasm. This may take a couple of days to a couple of weeks to resolve. I assume its already feeling a little better? You should continue training, returning to the OHP with a manageable, pain free weight. I expect this weight to be significantly lighter to begin. Since you did not provide any training loads, here's is an example.

Lets say you did 3 sets 5 at 115# on date of injury--> return to training 3 sets of 5 at 55#, following session 65#, then 75#, 85# 95#, Once you get to 105# return back to 5# or 2.5# jumps. This will get you back to your preinjury weight in about 3 weeks time.

If benching does not cause an increase in symptoms you can continue your progression.

Hope this helps

If you need further assistance or interested in a form check, please email me at cpalladino29@gmail.com

[zewski]

It’s a persistent injury, back when I was doing calisthenics I had the same problem. The pain ceases upon full recovery (about 2 days), but remerges every time I perform OHP. I’m just pressing the bar for now for 3 sets of 5.

[Chris Palladino]

Again, your explanation is very general but the fact that the pain subsides within 48 hours is good. What I suggest is to scale back to a pain free weight and pain free ROM. If your currently using a 45lb bar with symptoms, you might need to scale down to a 15 or 35# bar.

Is the pain occurring at the top of the press? If so, you should complete a partial press from the rack position to a point right before you experience pain. Shoot for 10 reps here on the first session, next session increase the range by 1-2inches and complete 8-10 reps, continue to increase ROM over 4-5 more sessions while decreasing the reps back down to 5. Once you are able to complete a full ROM, 3 sets of 5 with the 45lb bar then you can continue adding 2.5-5#. This process will take 3-4 weeks to complete.

Is the pain occurring at the bottom of the rack position? If so, you should set your J-hooks high near the lockout position and perform the press by lowering the bar to a point right before you experience pain. Continue with the same recommendation from above.

It would also be a good idea to get in front of a coach.
Hope this helps.

[zewski]

Appreciate your help Chris.

I don’t experience any pain during the lifts, not accute pain in any case, although I can feel the spot start to get agitated. The pain starts after the workout, and is more accute the following day. I am completing 3 sets of 5 with the 45 lb bar, getting the bar up there feels “effortless”. I did actually get in front of a coach, not a SS coach but a strength coach nonetheless and he could not identify anything wrong with my form. I am wondering if this can be caused by a pinched nerve or something? It seems that there is a muscle in my scapula that becomes inflamed with any exhaustive use. Just pressing the bar is light enough to not agitate too bad, but if I was doing a 5 RM it would almost certainly cause me pain the next 2 days. I’m wondering if this is an injury or muscle weakness that is likely to subside naturally by training through it? I have reduced ROM in that shoulder as well.

[Chris Palladino]

Maybe your coach is missing something in your form...

The way you describe the delay in pain sounds more muscular then nerve.

Stick to the training, make smaller jumps (2.5-5#). When 3 sets of 5 gets tough, switch to 5 sets of 3 reps, be more conservative.
Don't worry about your 5RM, you don't need to test a max effort right now.

Good Luck