Pain guide · Shoulder pain

Pulled chest muscle or torn pec: how to tell, when it needs surgery, and the way back to pressing

A pulled chest muscle is a strain of the pectoralis major, the big muscle across the front of the chest; a torn pec is a tear where its tendon joins the upper arm, usually during a heavy bench press or dip. Chest pain comes first, though: call 999 for chest pain that feels tight or like squeezing, or spreads to your arms, neck or jaw, even if you were lifting when it started. A pec injury starts with a pop or tearing at one moment of a lift and hurts at the front of the armpit and upper arm.

A strain keeps the chest's shape and usually settles over a few weeks. A pop followed by bruising into the upper arm, a changed armpit fold or weakness pushing needs checking the same day, and don't wait for it to settle: in pooled studies, tendon repairs done within about 6 weeks did better than later ones. This guide explains how to tell a strain from a tear, what surgery and rehab achieve, and a staged plan with 3D demos back to the bench. If you've had a repair, your surgical team's plan comes first.

4-stage exercise plan When to get help 27 sourcesUpdated 21 October 2026

When to get help first

Exercise is for pain that has been checked or is clearly mild and settling.

Get urgent medical help if

Call 999 (911 in the US) if you have chest pain that feels tight or like squeezing on your chest.
Call 999 (911 in the US) if you have chest pain that spreads to your arms, neck or jaw.
Call 999 (911 in the US) if you're having severe difficulty breathing: you're gasping, choking or not able to get words out.
Call 999 (911 in the US) if your lips or skin are pale, blue or grey. On brown or black skin, this may be easier to see on the palms of the hands.
Call 999 (911 in the US) if someone has passed out and is not responding normally.
Call 999: sudden pain or discomfort in your chest that does not go away (it can feel like squeezing or pressure, burning or indigestion), or chest pain and you feel sweaty, sick, light-headed or short of breath.
Call 999: you've been diagnosed with angina and have chest pain that does not stop after resting for a few minutes or after taking your angina medicine.
Call 999: chest pain with difficulty breathing, your heart beating fast, or coughing up blood. This could be a blood clot in the lungs (pulmonary embolism).
Call 999 or go to A&E: after a fall or injury, your shoulder looks out of place or has changed shape, or you cannot move your arm. Do not drive yourself, and do not try to put it back in yourself.
Same day (NHS 111 or an urgent treatment centre): a pop or tearing at the front of the armpit or chest during a lift, a dip or a tackle, followed by bruising into the chest or upper arm, a change in the shape of the chest or armpit (a thinner or lost armpit fold, or a chest or nipple that looks uneven), or weakness pushing. Don't wait for it to settle: it can be a torn pec tendon, and repairs done within about 6 weeks did better than later ones.
Get help from NHS 111: pain or tightness in your chest, neck, shoulders, jaw or arms that comes and goes, often brought on by exercise, stress, emotion or cold and easing after a few minutes' rest. It can be angina, a sign of a heart problem.
After an operation, oozing or pus from the wound: ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111. If you feel unwell or feverish and the wound looks infected, go to A&E.
Arm pain or swelling with breathlessness or chest pain: call 999 or go to A&E, and do not drive yourself. It can be a blood clot that has reached the lungs.
Throbbing pain and swelling in the arm, with red, blue or darker skin and swollen veins: ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111. It could be a blood clot.
After a repair, a high temperature, pain your painkillers don't control, a wound that keeps leaking, or numbness or tingling in the arm or hand that doesn't settle: contact your surgical team the same day, or NHS 111 out of hours.

See a doctor or physiotherapist if

Pain that is getting worse or has not improved after 2 weeks of looking after it yourself, or it is very hard to move your arm. In many areas you can refer yourself to physiotherapy.
A dip or change in the chest's shape that you only notice once the bruising fades, or weakness pushing that isn't getting better: get it checked promptly through your GP or NHS 111, and ask about a shoulder specialist. A tendon tear found late can often still be repaired, though the results are better early.
Pain beside the breastbone with no injury, sore to press: see our costochondritis guide, once the heart has been considered. Pain between the ribs after coughing or a twist: see our rib injury guide.
Pins and needles or a cold arm alongside neck pain, or a new loss of strength or feeling in the arm that you cannot explain (a possible nerve problem).

Understand it

Chest pain: the heart comes first

A heavy lift is exercise, and exercise can bring on angina or a heart attack. A pulled chest muscle starts at one moment of a lift, with a pop or tearing, and hurts at the front of the armpit and upper arm. The NHS describes a chest sprain or strain as pain that starts after a chest injury or chest exercise, may get worse when you breathe in, and feels better when you rest the muscle. But pain you can press on doesn't rule out the heart: in one emergency department study of 122 people with chest pain, 6% of the 36 whose chest wall was tender to press were having a heart attack.

While you wait for help, the NHS advice on our heart disease page applies: don't drive yourself to A&E. Sit and rest on the floor with your knees bent and your back supported. Take a 300 mg aspirin if you have one and aren't allergic to aspirin, and use your GTN (glyceryl trinitrate) spray or tablets if you have angina. If someone stops responding and stops breathing, start CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).

Sources 1, 2, 3, 4

What it is

The pectoralis major is the fan-shaped muscle across the front of the chest. It starts from the collarbone, the breastbone and the upper rib cartilages, and its fibres gather into a two-layered tendon that attaches to the front of the upper arm bone, forming the front wall of the armpit. It brings the arm across the body, turns it inwards and pulls a raised arm down: the work of every press, push-up and fly. Our pectoralis major guide covers the muscle in more detail.

Two injuries share the name. A strain, or pulled chest muscle, is overstretched or partly torn muscle fibres, usually in the muscle belly: the chest keeps its shape and most of its strength. A tear, or torn pec, is a complete or near-complete tear at or near the tendon. In 104 operated tears, 96% were at or between the point where muscle becomes tendon and the tendon's attachment to the bone, most often in the deeper tendon layer. In 19 young military cadets, half were where muscle meets tendon.

Sources 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

Who gets it, and how it happens

Pec tears are reported almost only in men: all 664 people in one pooled analysis were men, average age 31, and OrthoInfo, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' patient site, names men aged 30 to 60. Of 365 published cases, 83% happened without a blow and 48% during weight training; in one series of 60 athletes, the bench press caused 80%. Wrestling, American football, gymnastics, boxing and water skiing are other listed causes.

Tears happen as the loaded arm is lowered and turned out: the bottom of a bench press or a dip, or an arm forced out and back in a tackle. The muscle is working while it's being stretched (a lengthening, or eccentric, load). In the National Football League (NFL), there were 132 strains and 79 ruptures over 15 seasons. Anabolic steroids are a listed risk factor, but only 6.9% of NFL players with a tear had a drug suspension.

Sources 12, 7, 6, 13, 14, 15, 16

How a tear is recognised

A strain hurts in the muscle but keeps the chest's shape and most of its strength (our summary of the sources). A tear usually starts with a pop or ripping in the chest or upper arm during a heavy lift, then immediate pain and weakness, and you usually can't carry on. The NHS says shoulder pain that started after an injury, or an arm or shoulder that has changed shape, needs an urgent GP appointment or NHS 111. The signs of a tear:

Bruising across the chest and down the inside of the upper arm. Bruising in the arm points to a tear at the bone rather than in the muscle.
A change of shape: the front fold of the armpit is thin or lost, and the chest, the armpit curves or the nipples look uneven.
The difference is clearest when you press your palms together in front of you (the prayer position): the torn muscle bunches towards the breastbone.
Weakness and pain pushing, and turning the arm in.

Sources 6, 5, 17, 18

Scans: what they show

A complete tear is usually recognised on examination. A dedicated MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan of the pectoralis shows where it has torn and how far; a routine shoulder MRI may not include the muscle, and ultrasound is an alternative. X-rays only show bony fragments. If a tear is clear on examination and an MRI would delay surgery, a surgeon may skip the scan.

We found no studies of chest muscle scans in people without symptoms, so we can't say which scan findings are common and harmless for this injury.

Sources 17, 16, 6

How it usually goes

Strains: the NHS says most strains feel better after 2 weeks, that strenuous exercise is best avoided for up to 8 weeks, and that severe ones can take months. We found no study of time off after a pec strain outside professional sport.

Complete tears: without a repair, pain usually improves, but the change of shape and some weakness stay; in one study, strength was 41.7% lower about 4 years later. After a repair, full activity takes at least 6 months and full strength a year or more, and about 3% to 7% tear again.

Sources 8, 6, 13, 14, 19, 7

What helps, and how strong the evidence is

A complete tear: surgery or notEmerging evidence

In pooled studies of 664 tears in men, repair beat non-surgical care for function, getting full strength back, strength measured on a machine (28.9% closer to the other arm's) and the chest's shape; range of movement was similar. But only 61 tears were treated without surgery, they were followed for less time, and the authors call their comparison speculative. In the largest single comparison, 60 athletes followed for about 4 years, nobody treated without surgery had an excellent result, against 68% after repair, and strength was down 41.7% against 14.3%. An older review of 112 cases points the same way.

None of these studies were randomised, so the people who had surgery may have differed from those who didn't. Non-surgical care is usually offered for partial tears, tears in the muscle belly, and older or less active people: pain improves, but the change of shape and some weakness stay. In the NFL, players whose tears weren't operated on missed 77 days on average, against 147 after a repair, though their tears may have been less severe.

Sources 7, 13, 10, 6, 14

Timing: early repairs did betterEmerging evidence

In a pooled analysis of 384 tears, early repairs did better than late ones: function was 0.85 points better on a 1 to 4 scale, 20.5% more people were satisfied with how the chest looked, and possibly more were pain-free, though that difference could be chance. The same research team's companion review counts a repair as early when it's done within 6 weeks. An older review of 112 cases found that surgery, preferably within 8 weeks, did better than no surgery or a delayed repair.

A late repair isn't hopeless: in one surgeon's 104 repairs, 63.6% of the tears were more than 6 weeks old and most could still be reattached directly, and a review says good results are possible later, sometimes with a tendon graft. So the message is to be seen quickly, not that a tear found late can't be fixed. No way of fixing the tendon to the bone did better than another.

Sources 20, 7, 10, 9, 16

After a repair: return to sport and liftingEmerging evidence

Across 18 studies (536 people), 90% returned to sport, on average 6.1 months after surgery, and 74% at their previous level; 95% went back to work, at 6.9 months. 18% had a complication, and 7% needed another operation.

Lifters lose some strength. In 44 men, nearly all (97.7%) went back to some sport but only half at the same intensity, their heaviest single bench press (one-rep maximum) was 23% lower on average, and 39% felt apprehensive lifting. 85.7% of NFL players with a tear returned. There are no agreed tests for returning to sport after a pec injury: a review of 39 studies found strength, range, function and pain used in different ways.

Sources 19, 21, 15, 22, 11

A partial strain: borrowed evidenceMixed evidence

No study has tested rehab for a partial pec strain. So the plan borrows: the NHS advice for strains for the first days; a trial in 50 recreational athletes with severe thigh or calf strains, in which starting rehab early sped recovery, with strength the same either way; and a trial in 43 men with hamstring strains, in which rehab that allowed a tolerable level of pain was as quick as pain-free rehab (a median of 17 against 15 days) and rebuilt 15% more strength. Neither trial was in the chest.

The order of the moves is borrowed from repair protocols: gentle holds with the arm close to the body first, then the middle of the range, and the stretched position (arm out to the side and back) last. For a strain, that order runs over days to weeks instead of months (our suggestion).

Sources 7, 22, 8, 23, 24, 5, 25

Rehab after a repair: protocols, not trialsEmerging evidence

An NHS leaflet uses a sling day and night for about 3 weeks, with hand, wrist and elbow exercises and the shoulder blades back and down; then weaning off the sling, assisted movement and gentle holds against a door frame at 3 to 6 weeks, with no hand behind the back and limited movement out to the side; then strengthening of the other shoulder muscles; and chest strengthening from about 3 months, with the elbows no lower than the shoulder on bench presses and flys. US protocols follow the same shape, keep the bench press below half the old maximum until about 6 months, and leave heavy flys and the pec deck until 6 months.

These timings are clinical opinion. One protocol's authors say they rest on clinical impression, because no study has tested how strong the repair is at each stage. Your surgical team's protocol comes first.

Sources 26, 25, 5

How much pain is OK while you exercise?

Tolerable discomfort, about 3 to 4 out of 10, settled within the day; the stretched position comes lastEmerging evidence

For a strain, or a tear managed without surgery: mild discomfort you'd call tolerable, about 3 to 4 out of 10, is fine during the exercises if it settles within the day and the chest is no worse the next morning. That number is borrowed from a hamstring strain trial, in which rehab that allowed pain up to a tolerable level was as quick as pain-free rehab and rebuilt more strength; it hasn't been tested in the chest muscles. Sharp pain, a new pop or more bruising means stop and drop back a step.

Stop short of any pull with the arm out to the side and back (the bottom of a wide bench press, a fly, a deep dip, a doorway stretch) until pressing is comfortable: the repair protocols load that position last.

After a repair, your team's rules come first. The NHS leaflet says to be guided by your pain, do the exercises little and often and never force a stretch, and to avoid the hand behind the back and limit movement out to the side for the first 6 weeks. A protocol warns that painful lifting of the arm can harm the healing repair.

Chest pain that feels tight, squeezing or heavy, spreads to your arm, neck or jaw, or comes with breathlessness or sweating isn't a pain-rule question: call 999.

Sources 24, 25, 5, 26

The exercise plan: 4 stages

Start at the first stage. Each move opens a full guide with a 3D demo.

Stage 1

Protect it and keep moving (about days 0 to 5 for a strain; weeks 0 to 3 after a repair, as your team allows)

Calm the pain and bruising while keeping the hand, elbow and shoulder blade moving. For a strain, the NHS advises ice for up to 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours and no heat, alcohol or massage for the first couple of days; take a few days off lifting. After a repair, the sling stays on day and night for about 3 weeks, off only for these exercises and washing, as your team allows. Doses are editorial unless named.

Ball squeeze demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoBall squeezeBeginner · Other / check instructions

5 to 10 squeezes, a few times a day · Little and often, as in an NHS leaflet after a repair

Harder: Band finger extension

Elbow bend and straighten (elbow range of motion) demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoElbow bend and straighten (elbow range of motion)Beginner · No equipment

5 to 10 slow repetitions, a few times a day · The other hand can help. From the NHS leaflet

Harder: Dumbbell biceps curl

Seated upper-back lift (sit tall, shoulders back) demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoSeated upper-back lift (sit tall, shoulders back)Beginner · A bench or box

5 to 10 gentle holds of 3 to 5 s, a few times a day · Shoulder blades back and down, as in the NHS leaflet; the hold length is the move page's

Easier: Elbows back · Harder: Prone Y-T-W raises

Table slide (seated forward reach) demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoTable slide (seated forward reach)Beginner · A bench or box

10 slow slides, 1 to 3 times a day, only as far as is comfortable · For a strain, once the sharp pain eases; after a repair, from about 3 weeks, as your team allows. The move page's dose

Easier: Pendulum exercise (Codman's pendulum) · Harder: Overhead lat stretch at a bench (elbows on the bench)

Stationary cycling demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoStationary cyclingBeginner · Cardio machine

10 to 20 min, easy · Keeps you fit while the arm is protected; one protocol prefers the bike to a treadmill or cross-trainer

Harder: Air bike intervals

Move on when: For a strain, dressing and reaching are comfortable and the sharp pain has settled, often after 3 to 5 days (our estimate). After a repair, your team says the sling can come off, often at about 3 weeks.

Follow along: a timer, a cue and the next move, one step at a time.

Stage 2

Wake the muscle up gently (about days 5 to 14 for a strain; weeks 3 to 12 after a repair, as your team allows)

Get the reach back and start the chest muscle working with gentle holds, the arm close to the body, alongside shoulder blade and rotator cuff work. After a repair, there are no holds for the chest muscle itself until your team allows (from 6 weeks in one protocol, 9 to 14 weeks in another); the door-frame holds in the notes below come first. Doses are editorial unless named.

Isometric chest squeeze (palm press) demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoIsometric chest squeeze (palm press)Beginner · No equipment

6 to 10 holds of 5 to 10 s, starting gently and building to firm over the stage · Keep the elbows close to the body. The move page's dose

Harder: Drop push-up from boxes

3D demoBand rowBeginner · A band + An anchor point

2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 with a light band

Harder: Supported single-arm dumbbell row

Standing band external rotation demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoStanding band external rotationBeginner · A band + An anchor point

2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15, elbow at your side, stopping well short of the end of the turn · After a repair, start with the door-frame holds instead

Harder: Side-lying external rotation

Wall push-up demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoWall push-upBeginner · A wall

2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12, hands at chest height, a short range · For a strain only at this stage; after a repair, from about 3 months, as your team allows

Harder: Push-up

Scapular push-up (push-up plus) demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoScapular push-up (push-up plus)Beginner · No equipment

2 sets of 10, hands on a wall · One protocol adds this at 9 to 14 weeks after a repair

Easier: Dumbbell shoulder-blade punch · Harder: Pike push-up

Move on when: Reaching overhead and behind your back is nearly full and comfortable, and the holds and wall push-ups stay within the pain rule. After a repair, your team's go-ahead.

Follow along: a timer, a cue and the next move, one step at a time.

Stage 3

Build pressing strength (about weeks 2 to 6 for a strain; from about 3 months after a repair, as your team allows)

Load the chest through more of its range, with the elbows still no lower than the shoulder, as the NHS leaflet advises after a repair, and balance the pressing with pulling. Doses are editorial unless named.

Incline push-up demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoIncline push-upBeginner · A bench or box

3 sets of 8 to 12, lowering the surface over the weeks · Then knee push-ups and push-ups. One protocol moves from counter to full push-ups at 14 to 20 weeks after a repair

Harder: Push-up

Dumbbell floor press demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoDumbbell floor pressIntermediate · A dumbbell

2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12, stopping with 2 or 3 reps in reserve · The floor stops the elbows at about shoulder level. The move page's dose

Easier: Chest press machine · Harder: Bench press with chains

Band internal rotation demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoBand internal rotationBeginner · A band + An anchor point

2 to 3 sets of 12 to 15 · Turning the arm in is a pec job, loaded late in the protocols

Harder: Side-lying external rotation

Chest press machine demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoChest press machineBeginner · Strength machine

2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 · Set the range limiter so the bottom stays short of a stretch

Harder: Barbell bench press

3D demoBand rowBeginner · A band + An anchor point

3 sets of 10 to 15 · Balances the pressing

Harder: Supported single-arm dumbbell row

Doorway chest opener demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoDoorway chest openerBeginner · A wall

Late in the stage only: 2 to 3 gentle holds of 20 to 30 s, elbow low at first · One protocol adds gentle doorway stretches at 14 to 20 weeks after a repair

Easier: Elbows back · Harder: Fish pose (Matsyasana)

Move on when: Push-ups and the floor press are comfortable at a moderate effort, the two sides feel similar, and, for a strain, there's no dip or change in the armpit fold.

Follow along: a timer, a cue and the next move, one step at a time.

Stage 4

Back to the bench and sport (from about week 6 for a strain; from about 6 months after a repair, as your team allows)

Return to pressing, flys and contact in steps, adding weight before intensity. After a repair, protocols keep the bench press at no more than half your old maximum until about 6 months, then build slowly, and leave heavy flys and the pec deck until 6 months. Starting a strain at about half your old working weight borrows that rule (our suggestion). Doses are editorial unless named.

Dumbbell bench press demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoDumbbell bench pressIntermediate · A dumbbell + A bench or box

3 sets of 8 to 12 at about half your old working weight, adding about 5% to 10% a week within the pain rule · Elbows no lower than the bench at first

Easier: Barbell bench press · Harder: Bench press with bands

Barbell bench press demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoBarbell bench pressIntermediate · A barbell + A bench or box

Start at no more than half your old one-rep maximum, in sets of 8 to 12, building over 4 to 8 weeks · A grip no wider than about 1.5 times shoulder width, a slow lowering, safety arms set, and no heavy singles

Easier: Chest press machine · Harder: Dumbbell bench press

3D demoPush-upIntermediate · No equipment

3 sets, building back to your old numbers

Easier: Wall push-up · Harder: Close-grip push-up (close triceps position)

Medicine-ball chest push demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoMedicine-ball chest pushBeginner · Medicine ball

2 to 3 sets of 6 to 8 with a light ball · Protocols add chest passes from about 3 to 6 months after a repair

Harder: Two-hand overhead throw

Machine chest fly (pec deck) demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoMachine chest fly (pec deck)Beginner · Strength machine

Last: light, 2 sets of 12 to 15 · Set the start pin so the arms stay in front of the body

Harder: Cable fly

Move on when: Your usual training is back without pain or apprehension, and strength is close to the other side. One protocol asks for at least 85% of the other arm's strength and no pain or tenderness before sport. No return-to-sport test has been validated.

Follow along: a timer, a cue and the next move, one step at a time.

What to change for now

After a repair: typical timings, which your team may change

These come from an NHS leaflet and two US protocols, and they differ. Your surgical team's protocol comes first.

Sling: day and night for about 3 weeks in the NHS leaflet; 3 to 4 weeks, or weaning off between 4 and 6 weeks, in the US protocols.
Weeks 0 to 3: hand, wrist and elbow exercises, and the shoulder blades back and down; no stretching.
Weeks 3 to 6: off the sling; table slides, an assisted arm raise lying down, and gentle holds against a door frame. No hand behind the back, and limited movement out to the side, for the first 6 weeks.
6 weeks to 3 months: movement and strength for the other shoulder muscles. Holds for the chest muscle itself start when your team says: from 6 weeks in one protocol, 9 to 14 weeks in another.
From about 3 months: chest strengthening, with the elbows no lower than the shoulder on bench presses and flys, and lighter weights for more repetitions rather than heavy weights for a few.
About 6 months: the bench press no heavier than half your old maximum until then, and heavy flys and the pec deck wait until 6 months. Full strength can take a year or more.

Sources 26, 25, 5

Holds against a door frame after a repair (written steps)

The 3D figure can't show pressing into a door frame, so here are the steps from an NHS leaflet, for 3 to 6 weeks after a repair, as your team allows.

1. Stand with your back to a door frame, the arm by your side and the elbow bent to a right angle.
2. Push your elbow gently back into the frame, hold for a few seconds, then relax. Repeat 5 to 10 times.
3. Stand side-on to the frame, the elbow bent to a right angle and tucked in.
4. Push the back of your hand gently outwards into the frame, as if turning the arm out; hold, then relax. Repeat 5 to 10 times.
5. Do these little and often through the day. Be guided by your pain, and don't push into a stretch.

Source 26

Back in the gym with a strain

Train your legs and your pulling as usual. Press with a narrower grip and a slow lowering, use a shorter range (a floor press, with the elbows no lower than the shoulder), and pick lighter weights for more repetitions rather than heavy singles; the NHS leaflet gives these last two for after a repair, and they suit a strain too (our suggestion). Heavy flys come last, and weighted dips wait until pressing is back to normal (our suggestion).

Sources 26, 5, 25

Positions to swap, and why

Habit or position	Why it matters	Instead
Heavy bench pressing, especially wide-grip, bounced off the chest or to failure	Tears happen as the loaded arm lowers and turns out at the bottom of the press, and protocols keep the bench below half the old maximum for months after a repair.	A floor press, then dumbbells at about half weight with a slow lowering.Try: Dumbbell floor press
Dips, especially weighted or deep	The bottom of a dip stretches the loaded chest under your body weight (our reasoning), and going deeper than upper arms parallel loads the front of the shoulder heavily.	Incline push-ups, then knee push-ups.Try: Incline push-up
Heavy or deep dumbbell flys	The stretched, arm-out position is where tears happen; protocols leave heavy flys until 6 months after a repair, with the elbows no lower than the shoulder.	The chest press machine with the range limited.Try: Chest press machine
Stretching the chest early	Forced stretching is ruled out after a repair, and every protocol loads the stretched position last.	Table slides within comfort.Try: Table slide (seated forward reach)
Reaching behind your back or out to the side early after a repair	The NHS leaflet limits both for the first 6 weeks.	Movements in front of your body, as your team allows.
Playing on with bruising, a dip in the armpit or weakness pushing	These are signs of a tendon tear, and early repairs did better than late ones.	Stop, and get it checked the same day.
Heat, alcohol or massage in the first couple of days	The NHS advises avoiding them after a strain to help prevent swelling.	Ice for up to 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours, and rest from lifting.
Anabolic steroids	They are a listed risk factor for pec tears.	Train without them.

Routines to follow

Shoulder mobility and stability routine (with a band)

A 25-minute band routine for healthy shoulders: move the shoulder and upper back through their range, then strengthen the rotator cuff and shoulder blades.

25 minBeginner12 movesA wall, A band

Push-up progression workout

Work up to full push-ups: wall, incline and knee push-ups, then the floor push-up and harder variations.

15 minBeginner8 movesA wall, A bench or box

Bench press technique workout

A 30-minute practice session for the bench press: shoulder blade work, push-ups and dumbbell presses, then the empty bar with the safety arms set.

30 minBeginner7 movesA band, A dumbbell

More moves for this area

Questions people ask

Is it a pulled chest muscle or a heart attack?

Call 999 for chest pain that feels tight or like squeezing, spreads to your arms, neck or jaw, or comes with severe breathlessness or pale, blue or grey lips or skin. A pulled pec starts with a pop or tear at one moment of a lift and hurts at the front of the armpit and upper arm, often with bruising. But pain you can press on doesn't rule out the heart, so if you're unsure, get checked first.

How do I know if I've torn my pec?

A pop or ripping during a heavy press, dip or tackle, then bruising across the chest and inner upper arm, a thinner armpit fold, a chest or nipple that looks uneven (clearest when you press your palms together), and weakness pushing or turning the arm in. A strain hurts but keeps its shape and most of its strength. Get a suspected tear checked the same day.

How soon do I need to be seen?

The same day, through NHS 111 or an urgent treatment centre, and don't wait for it to settle. In pooled studies, tendon repairs done within about 6 weeks gave better function and appearance than later ones, so a suspected tear needs a prompt referral to a shoulder specialist. A tear found later can often still be repaired, but the results are better early.

Does a torn pec need surgery?

A complete tendon tear in an active person is usually repaired, because strength and shape were better after repair in pooled studies, though none were randomised. Partial tears, tears in the muscle belly, and tears in older or less active people are often managed without surgery. Pain usually improves either way, but without a repair some weakness and the change of shape stay.

How long does a pulled chest muscle take to heal?

The NHS says most strains feel better after 2 weeks, and to avoid strenuous exercise for up to 8 weeks; severe ones take months. A torn tendon is different: after a repair, people returned to sport after about 6 months on average.

What's the recovery after pec surgery?

Typically a sling for about 3 weeks, gentle movement, chest strengthening from about 3 months, and bench pressing no heavier than half your old maximum until about 6 months. Full strength can take a year or more. Your surgical team's plan comes first.

Can I still lift weights with a pec strain?

Yes, with changes. Train your legs and pulling, and bring pressing back in steps, from wall push-ups to a floor press to light dumbbells, keeping discomfort to about 3 to 4 out of 10 that settles within the day. Leave heavy bench pressing, deep dips and flys until last.

Will I bench as much again?

Many people get close, but not everyone. After a repair, the heaviest bench press was 23% lower on average in 44 men, half returned to sport at the same intensity, and 39% felt apprehensive lifting.

Can women tear their pec?

It's rare: published series are almost all men. Chest pain in women, on either side, needs the same heart checks first.

Does a pulled chest muscle hurt when breathing?

It can. The NHS describes a chest sprain or strain as pain after a chest injury or exercise that may get worse when you breathe in and feels better when you rest the muscle. Pain mainly between the ribs after coughing is more often a pulled muscle between the ribs, which our rib injury guide covers.

Should I stretch a pulled chest muscle?

Not early. The arm-out-and-back stretch pulls on the injured muscle at its weakest, so the protocols bring it in last, and gently. Start with holds and pressing in a short range, and add gentle doorway stretches late on.

Related exercise guides

Other pain guides

Sources

Exercise education, not a diagnosis or treatment plan. It is written from the guidelines and studies listed above; review by a clinician is pending. If your pain follows an injury, is severe, is getting worse, or comes with any warning sign listed on this page, get it assessed. Health disclaimer.