Shoulder Mobility

The shoulder is a complex joint that often becomes problematic for those who weight train AND those who don’t. It’s a ball and socket joint with many muscles intersecting that can lead to compensation patterns and long-term loss of mobility.

A common culprit of long-term mobility loss is a small injury followed by a lack of movement due to pain. The worst decision after injury is to stop moving. Unfortunately it’s still common practice to let an injury heal by not moving the joint.

There’s a time and place for rest and recovery…like the time in between dislocating your shoulder and having it reset. The problem comes with the idea that injury recovery can only happen after the pain of the injury has subsided.

If you’re having a shoulder mobility issue, try following these steps to increase your active range of motion.

Step One:  Traction

I don’t recommend traction if you’ve recently dislocated your shoulder, or if you have osteoporosis. If you don’t have either of those problems, then traction might be your best friend. Hook a band around a high anchor and allow your shoulder to relax while moving towards your end ranges.

Step Two:  End Range Isometric Muscle Contraction

Move into the position where you’d like to increase your mobility. Once you’ve hit your end range, complete an isometric muscle contraction in the opposite way you want to increase ROM for 20 seconds. Release the contraction  and you’ll be able to move further into the stretch. This technique works best when you have something to push against for your muscle contraction. For example, if I want to increase my shoulder external rotation I put my arm in the end range. I place my palm against a wall and press forward for 20 seconds, then use the wall to gently push my arm further back in its external rotation.

Step Three:  Frequency

The intensity of this work matters, but even more so, frequency matters. The more times you can complete step two, the better. Once you have the desired ROM, less frequency is fine, but you probably won’t be able to maintain what you’ve gained if you stop completely.

If you need help with any of these steps, email me at info@keylifestylesolutions.com