Your shoulder is not a solid brick. It's a ball balanced on a tiny golf tee. That's right—the most mobile joint in your body is also the least stable.
Think of it as a wobbly Jello mold. If you push it funny, it jiggles the wrong way. Pushups make it jiggle a lot.
The real villain here is form. Your elbows flare out like chicken wings? Boom—shoulder impingement. Your head droops like a sad puppy? Hello, rotator cuff grumbling.
Your Rotator Cuff: The Overworked Intern
You have four tiny muscles that hold your shoulder together. They're called the rotator cuff. They work like a stressed-out intern doing 80% of the work for 10% of the credit.
When you do pushups, you're asking that intern to lift a heavy box. If your form is sloppy, they tear a muscle. Literally—ouch.
Fun fact: Rotator cuff tears happen more often from pushups than from actual fights. You're more dangerous to yourself than a kung-fu master.
Shoulder Pain After Pushups | Threads Physio
