How I Learned to Do a Full Push-Up with Scoliosis

I'm often asked how I'm able to do a full push-up with scoliosis. Honestly, being able to do push-ups is one of my biggest fitness achievements because it is something I have struggled with for years. It felt like my right arm was doing all the work and the left could not push my weight up. It was very frustrating, so, when I finally got my first full push-up and was able to do multiple reps, I felt unstoppable.

Okay, you're probably thinking, how did I manage it?

Before I get into what helped me achieve my first full push-up, let me give you some context.

Push-ups are hard

Push-ups are challenging for most people because they require a combination of upper body strength, shoulder stability and coordination.

When you push yourself away from the floor (the ascent phase), your shoulder blades glide away from the spine. This movement is called protraction and is driven largely by a muscle called the serratus anterior (SA). The serratus anterior sits along the side of your ribs. One of its roles is to help keep your shoulder blade close to your rib cage as you push. Your pectoralis major (pecs) also contributes to generating the pushing force, as the muscle contracts you’re able to push away from the floor.

When you lower yourself back towards the floor (the descent phase), your shoulder blades move back towards your spine. This movement is called retraction and is controlled by muscles including the trapezius and rhomboids, which also help stabilise the shoulder during the lowering phase.

So, What Does Scoliosis Have to Do with it?

Although I have had a spinal fusion, I still have a rib prominence on my right and my right shoulder also sits slightly higher and more forwards than my left.

Based on what I know about shoulder mechanics and what I experienced during training, I suspect these differences in shoulder blade position may add another layer of difficulty to a push-up. You see, a push-up isn't just about pushing with your arms. It also depends on how well your shoulder blades move around your rib cage.

Studies investigating shoulder blade movement in individuals with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) have found that the scapula (shoulder blade) on the convex side of the curve shows reduced upward rotation and posterior tilt during reaching movements compared with people without scoliosis (Lin et al. 2010, Roden et al. 2018). In other words, the shoulder blade doesn't rotate upwards or tilt backwards as much as we would normally expect during arm movements.

So, does the same thing might happen during a push-up?

During the ascent phase, the main movement of the shoulder blade is protraction. However, for the shoulder to move efficiently, it also needs to rotate upwards and tilt backwards.

If the shoulder blade on the convex side has restricted movements during reaching tasks, I wonder if a similar thing might happen during a push-up where your hands are fixed to the floor. If so, it could be said that reduced movement makes the shoulder blade stiffer. And if something is stiffer, it naturally feels more stable. I wonder if that stability is mistaken for strength.

I recently had a shoulder assessment and found that my right serratus anterior was actually weaker. That assessment is what prompted the research into shoulder mechanics with scoliosis and it has got me thinking ever since.

At the moment, there aren't any studies that I know of that have directly investigated how scoliosis affects push-up performance. So, although I think having scoliosis influences push-up performance because scoliosis changes shoulder blade position and may also influence muscle length, strength and how the muscles work together around the shoulder, it remains a hypothesis until future research investigates it directly.

It is also worth mentioning that we all naturally have strength differences on either side of the body and hand dominance also influences our perception of strength on either side of our body. I'm right-hand dominant, so I have a better mind-muscle connection towards the right side of my body and find it easier to coordinate my right side. I suspect all of these factors also contributed to why I felt my right side was stringer during push-ups.

Now for the part I’m sure you’ve been waiting to know: how did I adjust my training to get a full push-up?

How I Trained for my first full Push-up

Step 1: Build Strength One Side at a Time

I started with a single-arm dumbbell chest press on a flat bench. This mainly targets the chest (pecs), the front of the shoulder (anterior deltoid) and the serratus anterior. Training one arm at a time helped me develop a much better mind-muscle connection and build strength especially on my left side.

Because I felt my left side was weaker, I performed one or two additional repetitions on that side. Over time, this helped me build strength in my weaker arm.

Step 2: Progress Through Push-Up Variations

I started with knee push-ups before progressing to box push-ups. These variations reduce the amount of body weight you have to push, making it easier to practise the movement with good form and control.

Step 3: The Ultimate Test

As my strength and control improved, I started to do dumbbell chest presses with both arms to see whether I could press the same weight evenly on each side. Then I incorporated push-up hand release. This is where you lower yourself to the floor, lift both hands completely off the floor, put them back on the floor and push yourself up.

Eventually, I tried a full push-up and I managed to do a full push-up, lowering myself down and pushing back up.

If you're struggling with push-ups, I hope this reassures you that it is something you can work towards. It takes time, patience and consistent practice, but it is possible. And when you finally get it, you'll feel an incredible sense of pride knowing you've achieved something that once felt impossible.

Figure 1. Movement of the shoulder blade during push-up phases.

Figure 2. Serratus anterior (SA)

Figure 3. Pectoralis Major (Pecs) shown in green.

Figure 4. Trapezius

Figure 5. Rhomboids

References

Figure 1. Brookbush Institute (2026) Joints of the shoulder girdle and scapular motion. Available at: https://brookbushinstitute.com/courses/joints-of-the-shoulder-girdle-and-scapular-joint-actions

Figure 2. Yousun Koh. Kenhub. Available at: https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/serratus-anterior-muscle

Figure 3. Yousun Koh. Kenhub. Available at:https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/major-pectoralis-muscle

Figure 4. Yousun Koh. Kenhub. Available at: https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/trapezius-muscle

Figure 5. Yousun Koh. Kenhub. Available at: https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/rhomboid-muscles

Lin, J., Brown, J.K., Ju, S.B., Wu, W.H., Green, A. and Walsh, M. (2010) 'Alteration in shoulder kinematics and associated muscle activity in people with idiopathic scoliosis', Spine, 35(11), pp. 1151–1157. https://doi.org/10.1097/BRS.0b013e3181db7dc7.

Suprak, D.N., Osternig, L.R., van Donkelaar, P. and Karduna, A.R. (2013) 'Scapular kinematics and shoulder elevation in a traditional push-up', Journal of Athletic Training, 48(5), pp. 629–638. https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-48.5.08.

Van Roden, E.A.R., Richardson, R.T., Russo, S.A., Rose, W.C., Chafetz, R.S., Gabos, P.G., Shah, S.A., Samdani, A.F. and Richards, J.G. (2018) 'Shoulder complex mechanics in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and their relation to patient-perceived function', Spine, 43(18), pp. E1076–E1083. https://doi.org/10.1097/BRS.0000000000002622.