Shoulder Pain

I see a lot of clients with shoulder pain in my practice. I’ve had shoulder issues myself and some of them could be avoided. If you go by the motto, if it ain’t broke - don’t fix it, then don’t worry. But if you are one of those people who regularly takes a car in for preventative maintenance, has your teeth cleaned twice a year and/or changes the filter on your furnace as recommended, then you may want to read the rest of this article. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

If you are seeing and using a personal trainer then you probably don’t have to worry too much about if you are exercising correctly. They are probably giving you well balanced exercises to keep your body well developed on all sides. I see so many people with forward head posture - it is the normal posture these days - but it is not good for your body. It’s hard to avoid forward head when so many of us are looking down at our phones, computers, video games, etc. But with forward head usually comes forward rounded shoulders. If you can, take a break right now and roll your shoulders back and down. Go ahead, do it a few times. Feels good,  doesn’t it? 

The picture above illustrates an exaggerated forward head and rounded shoulders. Usually when this happens, the chest and accompanying muscles are tight and contracted. The muscles in the upper back are stretched out and weak. The shoulder blades have moved toward the front of the body, too and this causes problems with impingement. If your hands start getting numb and tingly it could be a nerve getting impinged at the AC joint.  

The picture above illustrates the difference between a normal shoulder and one with an impingement. The acromion is part of the shoulder blade and when that rotates forward it is more likely to be putting pressure on the shoulder bursa, fraying the rotator cuff muscle and pinching the nerve that runs through the shoulder and down the arm. So it’s important to keep your shoulders back. It also helps keep your head in the correct place, too.

So, hold your head up and keep your shoulders back. Your body will thank you.