Supraspinatus Pathology and The Bench Press

Have you recently been diagnosed with a rotator cuff tear involving the supraspinatus? Are you worried that once you are cleared to return to your prior activities without restriction that you will not be able to return to the gym and more specifically perform the bench press. Don’t fret but rather just simply modify your hand position so you are using an undergrip, which is just the opposite of the one shown here. By using an undergrip, the lifter is clearing the supraspinatus tendon from the undersurface of the acromion thereby minimizing the risk of shoulder impingement. I would also encourage the lifter to first become acquainted with the new hand position, use less weight to start, position the hands at a width of ~ 1.5 times the biacromial width, and always get a lift off.  Hope this is helpful…long live the shoulders. For additional information please read the article by Fees M, Decker T, Snyder-Mackler L, and Axe M entitled “Upper extremity weight-training modifications for the injured athlete. A clinical perspective.” This was published in AJSM (1998).