There are a lot of shoulder diagnoses out there that aim to identify structures or areas of the shoulder that are irritated. I talk about the most common here (link).
At the end of the day, you just want to move your arm. This will give me a good idea of your “impairment” and fast track you to getting back to what you love.
The test is easy - start with your arm at your side, then raise it up to the ceiling. Compare palm down and thumb up.
Here’s a video if that’s your thing.
Assess what you feel. It doesn’t have to be pain, it can be anything
pain; also rate intensity 0-1/10 scale
discomfort
tightness
less range of motion
Something just feels different
Let’s “FIX” it
“Fixing” it just a not fancy way to say modify. There are ideal “ways” to move based on biomechanics (link), but they aren’t set in stone since:
ideal is subjective and hard to measure
people without pain move with “bad” technique
people with pain move with “good” technique
intensity changes technique, hence why sprinting and jogging look different. As well as throwing a 100 mph fastball versus throwing a runner out at first from second base.
Anywho, lets get to the fixin’
Fix #1 - Load the shoulder blades/make the arms lighter
WHO IS THIS GOOD FOR: “rounded” shoulders and/or you rest with your thumbs turned in/elbows pointing out. Look at the hands of the circled guy and see his thumbs are pointing in. That’s called “internal rotation.”
This is often associated with that rounded shoulder position, but I’ve see it with the opposite, the stereotypical “military posture.” That posture usually has the shoulder blades squeezed together.
Keep in mind normal is not easy to define:
The FIX
This one is easy, just do like this video. Rotate the elbow out, bend the elbow, then send the hand to the ceiling. As you raise your arms, have the palms facing each other. This basically puts you in the scapular plane, the plane the shoulders love (LINK)
Was it better? Easier? Less pain? More motion?
Yes. Great!
No? Next —>
Fix #2 - Shrug the shoulders
WHO IS THIS GOOD FOR: big sloped traps, heavy/long arms, people with an increase lumbar lordosis. Heavy arms/big traps can pull the arms down, and increased lordosis can mean the arms are resting behind you. Both can pull the shoulder blades into what’s called downward rotation.
Shoulder blades need to rotate up to raise you arms, so started in downward rotation means they are starting behind the starting line, making it harder to catch up when the movement is completed.
The Fix - Still easy. Raise your arms and when they get to about shoulder height “gently” shrug the shoulders. This makes the upper traps work a little bit more and gets you out of the downward rotated position.
Was it better? Easier? Less pain? More motion?
Yes? Great!
No? Next—>
Fix #3- Reach
WHO IS THIS GOOD FOR: The military posture folks, where you are use to always standing up straight.
The fix - as you raise your arms think of REACHING forward and make your arms longer. This pulls the shoulder blades apart since you always want them stuck together and their job is to move.
If none of these worked, move to #4
Fix #4 - make the entire shoulder girdle stronger
You are either 1) too irritated or 2) need stronger shoulders. While you wait for the irritation to calm down, you don’t want to do nothing, so here’s a simple routine you can do (LINK).
Studying for the test
Keep in mind if any of the corrections made moving your arms feel better, it didn’t actually “FIX” anything, you’re just gaming the test by offloading what’s irritated. The tissue IS STILL IRRITATED, we just 1) found a workaround so you can continue to train and/or move with less pain and 2) trying to see can find a correlation between YOUR specific posture and your preferred movement.
Each of these are important because #1 gives you control over your pain and #2 gives us insights on what you are doing too much or not enough of, then we can make the change.
Don’t forget, I have 1-on-1 consultations where we can dive deep into your issue and build a custom program to address it. You can get those at the link below. Reach out if you have questions.
https://bowtiedbengal.gumroad.com/l/consult45
Good luck!
Looking for one on one consult and personal workout plan offering, not seeing it here