Shoulder Trouble? No, you don’t need more shoulder flexibility, you need shoulder MOBILITY!
The Most Common Pain In Fitness…
According to current injury incidence trends, the longstanding king of pain and dysfunction, notorious generalized non-specific lower back pain syndrome, is no longer the most common pain complaint among the active population.
It may come to a surprise to many, but surely a confirmation for many coaches, trainers and rehab pros out there working with human beings that generalized front sided shoulder pain now leads the way as the most common pain and/or dysfunction complain among people with a physical practice. And as we’ll see, common self shoulder mobility drills are usually NOT the cure.
But lets be honest, are you really THAT surprised that shoulder aches and pains are just as common, if not MORE common than lower back pain? While spikes in shoulder pain incidence among the active population is of course a multi-factorial problem, much of this alarming trend can be correlated to an inordinate amount sedentary screen time spent on cell phones, computers and other hand held technologies with poor ape-like postures.
No, most shoulder problems do NOT turn into injuries overnight, but rather accumulate unwanted stress over time leading to chronic based issues, that can cause regional tissues become chronically short and tight throughout the entire kinetic chain associated with the shoulder complex. But sometimes doing nothing at all can be more effective than making the wrong moves when it comes to self-treating your shoulders with loads of shoulder mobility drills.
Shoulder Mobility Gone Wrong
Even when exhibiting signs of pain or marked dysfunction at the shoulders, the average active person still wants to STAY active, essentially adding insult to injury and attacking their training and workouts with no idea that they are actually pouring gasoline on their shoulder problems, not helping to improve them. Simply put, when mixed with chronic postural stress disorders that are becoming more and more common, training is actually leaving people’s shoulders hurt more than ever as they are less prepared than ever to actually accept load and train pain-free.
But when pain or limitations present themselves, it’s not uncommon for an active person to train through pain, or to try and improve the pain response on their own.
While self maintenance is a mandatory part of living an active and pain-free lifestyle, doing the wrong types of drills with the wrong intentions can actually exacerbate chronic shoulder pain. Before we get into the top 5 mobility drills that will help aid pain and improve function, it’s pivotal to ensure that you are NOT making these two mistakes when self-treating your own shoulder pain with shoulder mobility techniques:
Mistake 1: Attacking shoulder flexibility.
The typical shoulder mobility routine involves stretching and yanking on a band in some funky positions. This in itself is a huge problem. Attempting to add more passive range of motion to the single most mobile joint in the body is asking for trouble.
More shoulder flexibility is rarely the answer. Think of it as useless ranges of motion. Range that requires an external force to achieve. Such as using a band as leverage and twisting your body in the opposite direction (pictured above). Because you cannot get into such positions without external ‘help’, this kind of movement often fails to transfer to improved function and performance.
What you need to do is focus on improving shoulder MOBILITY (flexibility + strength). Range of motion that you can control.
This distinction between flexibility and mobility is important. One that a lot of people fail to understand.
With better mobility comes better movement capacity. Meaning that you will be less likely to compensate and more capable of getting into correct positions. Only then can you display stellar movement execution. Pretty damn important if you want to maximise results while keeping your shoulders pain free!
Mistake 2: Forgetting the other joints that play into shoulder mobility.
Another typical mistake is to blame poor shoulder mobility on the shoulder joint itself. We cannot possibly have a chat about shoulder mobility without taking into account THE BIG 3:
The true shoulder joint (AKA the glenohumeral joint)
The scapulohoracic joint (shoulder blades moving on the rib cage)
The thoracic spine (mid back)
Realize that the shoulder complex is referred to as a “complex” for a reason. All of the joints that comprise this complex need to be accounted for in order to rebuild health and performance.
The fix?
Incorporate these mobility drills into your next workout and begin to reduce your body’s pain levels and improve your spine’s mobility:
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