Love CrossFit? Then you know how demanding it can be on your shoulders—especially during gymnastics moves like pull-ups, muscle-ups, and dips. But if you’ve ever felt nagging shoulder pain, “chicken winging” could be the culprit. This common movement flaw—flaring the elbows and externally rotating during transitions—puts excessive strain on your shoulder, particularly the subscapularis muscle. Here’s what you need to know to keep your shoulders strong and pain-free!

Why does this happen? 

This happens when athletes rely too much on their biceps and upper trapezius instead of properly engaging the shoulder’s stabilizing muscles. As a result, the shoulder rotates at the wrong time, leading to inefficient movement and poor mechanics.

In a kipping pull-up or muscle-up, for example, the goal should be to maintain strong, controlled shoulder engagement throughout the movement, using the lats and rotator cuff muscles in proper coordination. However, when the elbow flares outward in a “chicken wing” position, the shoulder’s internal rotators (especially the subscapularis) are compromised.

The Role of the Subscapularis:

The subscapularis is one of the four muscles that make up the rotator cuff, but it’s often overlooked in conversations about shoulder health. This muscle plays a vital role in internal rotation and stabilization of the shoulder joint. When your elbows flare out during exercises like muscle-ups, the subscapularis is forced into a vulnerable position where it’s overstretched, potentially leading to strain.

Symptoms of Subscapularis Strain:

– Deep, aching pain in the front of the shoulder

– Reduced internal rotation strength

– Difficulty or pain when reaching behind your back

– Shoulder instability or a feeling of weakness during pressing movements

How “Chicken Winging” Leads to Subscapularis Strain:

When you “chicken wing” during transitions in pull-ups or muscle-ups, your shoulder is placed in a suboptimal position. Instead of relying on the strength of the lats, teres major, and external rotators, the subscapularis is placed under excessive tension as the shoulder rotates outward with little support. Over time, this can cause microtrauma, leading to strain or even more severe injuries if not addressed.

CrossFit athletes who are newer to gymnastics movements or those pushing to increase reps and volume are especially prone to this issue. Without adequate control or body awareness, the shoulder becomes vulnerable to repetitive stress and strain.

How do we fix this? 

One of the most important strategies to prevent subscapularis strain and shoulder injuries in general is to gradually build loading tolerance in your shoulder. This means increasing the resilience of your shoulder muscles and tendons to handle the load and stress imposed by gymnastics movements. Emphasis should be placed on: 

1. Proper Technique
2. Strengthen the Rotator Cuff
3. Controlled Isometrics & Eccentric Strength
4. Progressive Overload

Be Proactive: 

If you’re experiencing shoulder pain or suspect a subscapularis strain, reply to this email and we can help! We will assess your movement patterns, provide targeted strengthening exercises, and help you CrossFit pain-free!

Take care of your shoulders so they can take care of you during your workouts!

Written by Ally Nelson – PT, DPT, OCS, SCS, CSCS, CIDN | Physio Room

The post Shoulder Pain in CrossFit: Avoiding “Chicken Winging” & Strain appeared first on Physio Room.

Hi, everyone! Dr. Chris Robl here with Physio Room and we have my wife, Courtney, and our youngest, Zachary, in the clinic today to talk to you a little bit about what Mom Shoulder (or Mom Posture) is and ways to treat this and prevent it from coming back.

Mom shoulder basically happens when we’re repetitively holding a baby or nursing a baby and your shoulders get ‘stuck’ in a forward or rounded posture. As your shoulder is constantly being rounded forward your rotator cuff then becomes stretched out. This leads to shoulder instability and we find that you will then start incorporating your upper trap for stability instead. In turn, we start seeing the persistent neck and shoulder pain, stiffness and strain.

So, let’s talk about a couple of drills to help you get out of this Mom Shoulder posture. You want to take a band in the hand of whichever side your irritation is on. You will want your elbow bent at 90 degrees and down to your side, shoulder blade down and set. We then want you to rotate our hand (holding the band) in an outward motion – you will go from elbow in, hand facing forward to elbow in, hand facing out from your side. You want to continue this motion until you start to get a nice little burn in the back side of your shoulder. Let’s go 3 sets of 10 reps to start and work our way up to 30 reps.

In addition to that strengthening exercise, we also want to be thinking about stretching these tight muscles out of their ‘stuck’ posture. Again, starting on the side that feels more irritated, begin by holding your arm long and straight down to your side, pulling those shoulder blades down into your back so that we’re not resting in this forward position. Use your remaining hand to slowly pull your head away from your shoulder. By doing this we are going to get a nice gentle stretch through the trap and the neck, relieving any pain and tightness caused by your Mom Posture.

If you have any questions about what we have talked about today please give us a call and, as always, if you have learned anything from today’s video, please like and share. We appreciate the support, thank you very much for everything you do for us here at Physio Room. Have a great day!

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