Pectoralis Major Repair

Massachusetts General Hospital · MGH Sports Medicine

Weight-Bearing

Sling neutral or IR Phase I-II; WB through surgical side permitted Phase III (wks 6-8)

Key Restrictions

No IR isometrics Phase I-II; no pec major loading until Phase IV (9-14 wks); ER limited early (neutral progressing 5 deg/wk); repair-type dependent progression (bone-tendon vs tendon-tendon vs muscle-tendon); sling wean timing differs by repair type

Timeline & Phases

7 phases: Phase I (0-3 wks, sling, PROM ER neutral progressing 5 deg/wk, flex 45 deg, ABD 30 deg), Phase II (4-6 wks, AAROM, sling wean per repair type), Phase III (6-8 wks, AROM, WB permitted), Phase IV (9-14 wks, IR/pec isometrics begin, full ROM goal bone-tendon), Phase V (14-20 wks, pec isotonics, full ROM goal tendon/muscle-tendon), Phase VI (5-6 months, plyometrics, early RTS), Phase VII (6+ months, unrestricted RTS — bench press 50% 1RM)

Notes

Revised 7/2023; repair type (bone-tendon, tendon-tendon, muscle-tendon) drives sling wean and ROM milestones; no pec loading until Phase IV; axillary incision monitoring for infection risk; 7-phase protocol. [Archived copy — original Massachusetts General Hospital URL retired in the Mass General Brigham site migration; Wayback snapshot 2025-02-16.]

Surgeon / Author

MGH Sports Medicine

Published

July 2023