Fix Your Tricky Shoulders

Shoulder problems are common, not only with those who train often, but also in those people who are hardly active at all. Unless you’ve had an accident, such as a fall that resulted in a muscular tear or a dislocation of the joint, you shoulder discomfort is more than likely being caused by poor posture and muscular imbalances.

Imbalanced training programs that over use certain muscle groups (usually the chest, biceps, and abs) can lead to shoulder discomfort, grinding shoulders, and aches/pains during certain movements – such as over head pushing and pulling. Sitting often at your desk, in your car, or on the couch (or texting and staring at your phone all day) can lead to a hunched over posture. This tightening up of the muscles in the front of the body, and elongating the muscles on the back of the body, can also lead to pain/discomfort in the shoulders – due to the hunched over posture limiting the range of motion available in your shoulders.

But did you know that in order to help “fix” tricky shoulders,  we should start by not actually isolating the shoulder joint.

A powerful approach to improving the health and movement of the shoulders is to improve the mobility and control you have over your scapula – your shoulder blades. If you can freely move your shoulder blades around your rib cage, with control, than you’ll greatly increase the mobility of your shoulders and improve your shoulder health.

How do you do this? Why should you do this? Well, that’s what our video blog (posted below) is going to discuss. Also, you’ll learn a simple exercise to start practicing. It will begin to get you familiar with how to move your shoulder blades, and gradually improve the health of your shoulders.

-T