Do You Need Zero Pain To Lift After A SLAP Tear?

A lot of people think they need zero pain before returning to lifting after a SLAP tear. That sounds sensible. But in practice, waiting for completely pain-free movement often means people stay stuck for months longer than they need to. When I was rehabbing my shoulders, I had elite sports physical therapists training around me every day. I kept asking the same question: “This hurts… should I stop?” Their answer was almost always another question. Does it feel worse after the workout… or the next day? Because that’s usually the signal that matters more. With a SLAP tear, some discomfort during training can be normal. You’re loading an injured shoulder. The key measurement isn’t pain during the exercise. It’s your baseline pain. That means what the shoulder feels like outside training. Reaching overhead. Putting on a shirt. Sleeping. Normal daily movement. If that baseline pain spikes the next day, the shoulder probably got more load than it could tolerate. That doesn’t mean failure. It means adjust. Reduce the load. Shorten the range. Lower the volume. Choose a simpler variation. Then try again. But if your baseline pain stays stable, that’s often a sign your shoulder tolerated the training. That’s how capacity gets rebuilt. Not by waiting for perfect conditions. But by finding tolerable loading and progressing gradually. Because strength doesn’t suddenly return one day. It’s earned rep by rep. #slaptear #shoulderpain #tornlabrum