Severe serratus pain after benching

[Quo]

Hi guys. I am new to this forum and I was wondering if anyone had any advice. I am 30 years old, 5'10", 200lbs and have been training regularly for 8 years. I focus my workouts around the "Big 3" in pseudo-powerlifter fashion and have been doing so ever since I started.

For the past year I've had a real problem with my serratus anterior muscle, particularly in the area around my scapula. I am working with an excellent chiropractor who has helped a lot with ultrasound therapy and deep tissue massage. He helped reduce the pain from almost completely debilitating to very manageable. The problem is, I still get severe flare ups occasionally after heavy bench sessions.

Has anyone else had a problem with this? The chiropractor explained that the problem could be that because I have focused so much on the Big 3, the major muscles have become very strong, while ancillary and intrinsic muscles (such as the serratus) have not kept pace, possibly due to the nature of the exercises, or improper form or a body imbalance. He gave me some exercises to help isolate and strengthen the serratus, but, so far, no luck in completely beating this thing.

Thank you for reading this long post. Any advice or input very much appreciated.

[nonotone]

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[stevey_6t9]

It inserts on the medial border of ur scapula if i remeber from anatomy class.

And OP i cant really see bench presses causing it to b injured.. best to keep strengthening it though and skip the bench for abit.

[Quo]

Thanks a lot for the input, guys.

Correct, the serratus does insert on the medial border of the scapula and runs around it down around the rib cage. I know it sounds counter intuitive, but you do actually involve your scapula and back in the bench press. Particularly, as Konateh mentions, if you arch your back a lot, as I do.

And you are probably right as well, it could be that I arch my back too much, in fact. I think it might be a good idea if I get someone experienced to take a look at my form and advise me. For the time being, I'll cut down on the weight and try to keep my back flat on the bench until I can figure something out.

Thanks.