Shoulder Pain When Pressing Overhead: Why It Happens and How to Fix It

Overhead presses, push presses, and push-ups are staples in most strength programs. But for many active adults, these movements cause one frustrating setback: shoulder pain.

If pressing overhead hurts, you’re not alone. At Thrive HQ, we work with gym-goers, CrossFit athletes, and lifters every week who want to train hard without pain. Here’s why pressing can trigger shoulder issues — and what to do about it.

✅ Why You Have Shoulder Pain When Pressing Overhead

1. Poor Shoulder Blade Control

If your shoulder blades don’t move well (upward rotation, posterior tilt), your shoulder joint gets pinched during overhead presses.

2. Limited Thoracic Mobility

A stiff upper back forces the shoulder joint to do all the work — increasing stress and irritation.

3. Weak Rotator Cuff & Serratus

These stabilizers keep the shoulder centered. When they’re weak, you lose control during pressing, which often shows up as pain.

4. Technique & Load Issues

• Pressing too far in front of the body

• Overarching the low back to “cheat” the range

• Jumping weight too quickly without proper control

✅ What Doesn’t Fix Shoulder Pain

• Avoiding pressing forever: This just creates more weakness.

• Only stretching: Mobility is important, but without strength/control, pain usually comes back.

• Resting it out: As we’ve covered before, rest alone doesn’t fix the problem.

✅ How to Fix Shoulder Pain When Pressing

1. Improve Mobility Upstream

• Thoracic extensions over a foam roller

• Quadruped “thread the needle” rotations

• Overhead banded lat stretches

2. Strengthen the Right Muscles

• Rotator cuff: External rotations, sidelying ER

• Serratus anterior: Wall slides, push-up plus

• Scapular control: Face pulls, YTWs

3. Fix Your Technique

• Keep the bar slightly in front of your face, then finish stacked overhead

• Engage your core to avoid over-arching

• Use tempo work (3–4 sec eccentric) to build control

4. Modify, Don’t Quit

• Try standing landmine presses or half-kneeling landmine presses as pain-free progressions.

• Build strength and confidence before returning to heavy overhead barbell work.

✅ Thrive HQ’s Approach

At Thrive HQ, we start with a Pain Diagnostic Session to find what’s limiting your overhead press. From there, we combine hands-on care, mobility drills, and customized strength programming so you can lift heavy — without your shoulders holding you back.

Real Client Example

“Every time I pressed overhead, my shoulder felt pinchy. Thrive HQ helped me improve my mobility and stability. Now I’m pressing pain-free and hitting PRs again.”— Nick, Lake Elmo

Final Thoughts

Shoulder pain doesn’t have to mean the end of pressing movements. With the right approach, you can improve mobility, stability, and technique — and get back to pressing strong and pain-free.

👉 Book a free discovery call with a Thrive HQ physical therapist to uncover what’s really behind your shoulder pain when pressing overhead.