Safer Overhead Military Press
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Healthline
Two weekends ago we were in Virginia on a medical consult with colleagues. One of the docs is an osteopath and collegiate team doc who really knows his orthopedics. I enjoy our discussions of the best techniques to retrain healthy muscle use. He mentioned that he discourages his team members from the overhead military press (lifting weight directly overhead with both arms). He mentioned the frequent, serious shoulder and neck injuries this exercise often produces. The numbers show that he is correct.
I asked his opinion on my view that these injuries usually only occur when allowing mal-positioning, such as the forward head and rounded shoulders, and overarching the lower back. Read how these positions produce injury in the posts
Breasts Causing Upper Back Pain is a Myth and
Change Daily Reaching to Get Ab Exercise and Stop Back and Shoulder Pain.
My colleague reminded me that the military press is not usually functional, which means that except in cases like my carpenter husband Paul who lifts substantial objects overhead all day at work, people do not lift overhead for daily life. Given the large number of injuries the overhead press causes, he'd rather people strengthen in other, more functional ways.
It is true that most lifting overhead is not directly over the shoulder, as in the military press. However, most people need to lift things overhead as part of daily life, and often use the overhead press during recreation, as in the photo, at right.
Here is how to do the overhead press in ways that I believe can keep it healthy, and how to transfer that healthy positioning to lifting laundry, groceries, babies, and other daily weights:
- Before doing lifting, use the quick check in Thumbs Can Show Tightness That Leads to Upper Back Pain.
- Do the pectoral stretch described in Fixing Upper Back and Neck Pain.
- Make sure not to arch your lower back to lift your arms, as explained in Change Daily Reaching to Get Ab Exercise and Stop Back and Shoulder Pain
Keep your shoulders down and your chin in, then lift. By keeping head and shoulder position from drooping forward, you will prevent the shoulder bone from squashing your rotator cuff and other soft tissue when you lift your arm. Use the healthy shoulder, neck, and lower back, positioning in #1,2, and 3 (above) for every overhead lift, from pulling off a shirt, to putting away groceries, to lifting children, putting things on shelves or overhead racks, to lifting weights. You will get better exercise and prevent injury.
Labels: arm, injury, lordosis, lower back, neck, neutral spine, shoulder, strength, upper back
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It is true that most lifting overhead is not directly over the shoulder, as in the military press. However, most people need to lift things overhead as part of daily life, and often use the overhead press during recreation, as in the photo, at right.
4 Comments:
At Tuesday, May 08, 2007 8:04:00 PM,
Sifter said…
"...my view that these injuries usually only occur when allowing mal-positioning, such as the forward head and rounded shoulders, and overarching the lower back."
But...but...I thought one of the WORST things you can do is load your spine with lumbar flexion?
Load + compression + lumbar flexion= OUCH! Isn't a bit of an arch stabilizing, along with abdominal bracing?
At Wednesday, May 09, 2007 4:38:00 PM,
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD said…
Hi Sifter, don't worry, the key word is overarching. Preventing overarching means keeping neutral spine, not going to flexion. Overarching is too much inward curve (overcorrecting for too much forward bending). Overarching (hyperlordosis) causes problems for the soft tissues and vertebral joints just as lumbar flexion causes problems with discs. Lifting and exercise are good things. Malpositioning creates injuries.
For helpful info on overarching:
Back Pain in Pregnancy - and Why Men Can Get It
Neutral Spine or Not?
What is Neutral Spine and Why Does Sticking Out In Back
Aren't You Supposed To Stick Your Behind Out to Sit Down or Do Squats?
Fixing the Commonest Source of Mystery Lower Back Pain.
Readers - add other posts here that help.
At Friday, January 01, 2010 6:38:00 AM,
Jacob Bowey said…
Thank you very much for this information, and the 3 stretches and wall test which, having just tried, I will make a part of my day. I've been lifting weights for a couple of years now and remember when I first started having upper back/neck pain resulting from seated shoulder press machine, and now that i've recently moved into compound free weights i'm experiencing similar problems with the military press. Do you think it would be possible to provide more pictoral representations of the anatomy or position during the military press, and the specific thigns to aviod which cause these problems, or do you know of a source of further information on this? I've read your description twice but i'm finding it hard to visualise! I'm a firefighter and for me, overhead press is a functional excercise, as well as integral to powerlifting training, so I would prefer not to stop doing it.
Many thanks again,
Jacob
jacob.bowey@hotmail.co.uk
At Friday, January 01, 2010 1:24:00 PM,
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…
Firefighter Jacob, Happy New Year. Thank you for trying the retraining given in the article and linked articles before asking the next step. Glad you understand the wall test and what the stretches do to allow repositioning. You sound like you will have good success.
For specific things to avoid which cause these problems, avoid the forward head and hyperlordosis - exaggerating the inward curve of the lower spine. One of our readers, David of Belgium, made us a short movie of fixing to neutral when reaching overhead - Overhead Lifting, Reaching, and Throwing Part II - Lower Back. Some (hopefully) helpful photos of what not to do and an x-ray drawing of neutral hip and spine in Overlooked Ab Muscles in Overhead Lifts. More links and illustrations in reply above, which I bet you already checked, good man.
For the most helpful photos, take photos of what you are doing - what you believe to be the wrong and right positioning. Send them to me and when all is right, we will make your success article for your reference and others.
The military press is functional and needs good use, rather than avoiding. I don't believe in "limit the person to limit the pain." Let's get you able to do more, lift more in healthy ways. Thank you for the work you do to keep us safe too.
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