CrossFit Shoulder Pain in Columbus: Why Kipping Hurts & How to Fix It (From a PT Who’s Treated beginners to professional cf athletes)

Written By Drew Wayman

If your shoulder lights up during toes-to-bar, kipping pull-ups, or butterfly work, you’re not experiencing something “normal” — you’re experiencing a mechanical breakdown that your body can no longer buffer.

For the last decade, between competing at the CrossFit Semifinals and treating hundreds of high-level CrossFit athletes in Columbus, I’ve seen the same pattern over and over:

Most kipping-related shoulder pain has nothing to do with mobility. It’s almost always a load-control issue.

And the good news?
When you understand why it’s happening, fixing it becomes extremely straightforward.

This article breaks down the exact causes and the proven system I use at The Way Physical Therapy to get CrossFit athletes back to training fast — without shutting them down.

Why Kipping Creates Shoulder Pain (The Real Biomechanics Behind It)

Kipping isn’t inherently harmful. The shoulder is designed to tolerate high-speed cyclical loading when the athlete has the prerequisite strength, tissue capacity, and positional control.

The problem arises when one of those components is missing.

Based on treating athletes from Bexley Strength, CrossFit Grandview, and gyms across Columbus, these are the three most consistent root causes:

1. The Lats Aren’t Controlling the Deceleration Phase

The kip isn’t about creating momentum — it’s about controlling it.

When the lats can’t eccentrically load the shoulder as you transition from arch → hollow, the humeral head drifts forward in the socket. This overloads the anterior shoulder structures:

  • Biceps tendon

  • Subacromial space

  • Long head stabilizers

Symptoms usually include:

  • Pinching at the front of the shoulder

  • Pain when hanging, pulling, or transitioning at the bottom

Athletes often misinterpret this as “impingement” when it’s actually poor force absorption.

2. Rotator Cuff Endurance Is Outpaced by Training Volume

High-rep gymnastics places substantial demand on the posterior cuff — particularly the infraspinatus and teres minor — to keep the shoulder centered under speed.

When this system fatigues faster than expected:

  • Mechanics fall apart

  • The anterior shoulder begins taking the stress

  • Pain shows up after 30–50 reps or later into the workout

This is one of the biggest reasons shoulder pain appears suddenly after a spike in volume (Open prep, new cycle, etc).

3. Ribcage Position Collapses in the Arch Phase

Most athletes “over-arch” as they try to create a bigger swing.

This breaks tension in:

  • The anterior core

  • Lats

  • Serratus anterior

When those three lose integration, the shoulder loses centration and ends up in a compromised position under load.

Translation:
The position you pull from becomes unstable, and the tissues get irritated.

The 3 Most Effective Corrective Drills for Kipping-Related Shoulder Pain

These are the exact progressions I use inside The Way Physical Therapy for CrossFit athletes who need a fast turnaround without taking weeks off.

⭐ 1. Cable or Banded Lat Pull-Downs — Reinforce Eccentric Control

This drill retrains the lats to decelerate the shoulder — the single most important component of a pain-free kip.

Prescription:
3 × 10–12 with a 2–3 second lowering phase
Key cue: Elbows pull down and slightly back while the ribs stay stacked.

⭐ 2. Banded Straight-Arm Pull-Downs — Teach the Shoulder to Stay Organized

This drill reinforces shoulder positioning through full overhead range and integrates core → lat → shoulder control.

Prescription:
3 × 15
Key cue: No rib flare. Think “sternum down, long through the arms.”

⭐ 3. Dumbbell Pullover — Restore Ribcage Mechanics & Lat Integration

This is one of the most underutilized but powerful drills for athletes who lose shape in the arch phase.

Prescription:
3 × 8–10 focusing on a slow, controlled descent
Key cue: Keep the spine quiet and let the lats do the work.

When Shoulder Pain Requires a Physical Therapist (Not More Drills)

Here’s the truth:
If pain has lasted longer than 7–10 days, continues to flare with volume, or keeps returning every training cycle, you’re no longer dealing with a technique issue — you’re dealing with a tissue capacity issue.

This requires:

  • A precise diagnosis

  • Load management strategy

  • Force-absorption progressions

  • Individualized strength prescription

This is where most athletes go wrong. They modify for a few days, feel “good enough,” and jump right back into volume before the tissue capacity matches the demand.

That’s the fastest path to chronic shoulder pain.

Work With The Way Physical Therapy (Columbus’ CrossFit PT Specialist)

I help CrossFit athletes fix shoulder pain fast — without stopping training — using a progressive, strength-based approach that targets the exact mechanics that caused the issue.

If you’re dealing with shoulder pain during kipping, butterfly work, or any overhead movement…

👉 Book a Free Consultation Call
Call or text: 513-504-6980
Or DM @thewayphysicaltherapy

You don’t need to keep “pushing through” shoulder pain.


You just need the right system — and I’ve built exactly that.

Drew Wayman
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