Relieve Shoulder Pain and Improve Exercise Technique

Relieve Shoulder Pain

Relieve shoulder pain and improve exercise technique. In this writing we will discuss the "forward" shoulder position, it's impact and the muscles that can be implicated. Our video discusses this along with helpful tips to correct this mal-positioning. Watch the video now.

Why is shoulder positioning important during exercise?

Proper shoulder positioning can help exercise performance and also prevent injury. During certain exercises such as the bench press or shoulder press, the most appropriate position is to have the shoulders pulled back by pinching the shoulder blades together. You should also have the shoulders in a "down" position. Meaning it should be positioned in the direction towards your heel.

There are 3 key reasons to be in this position:

1. Injury prevention: When the shoulder is too far forward it can lead to future injury. When you are doing certain exercises such as the lat pulldown or shoulder press the shoulders should be back. The reason for this is that, when the shoulder is too far forward, it actually puts the shoulder in a terrible biomechanical position. What can occur is that in this position, the tendon of Supraspinatus can impinge on a bone of the shoulder blade, the Acromion and cause inflammation. During any exercise that involves overhead motions, the shoulder blades should be pinched back and the arms slightly forward, just slightly passed the shoulder. This position allows for the Supraspinatus to better "clear" the Acromion.

2. This is a more stable position: This position stabilizes the shoulder blade and provides a good base to do lifts such as the bench press or incline press. You are minimizing the amount of excess motion through the exercise range.

3. This can provide a "pre-stretch" to the muscles, in particular the pectoral group. When you add a pre-stretch to the muscles, you are using the muscles potential elastic energy through the exercise. This can provide more muscle force during lifts.

What can make this happen?

To relieve shoulder pain and improve exercise technique, we will discuss what can cause this issue.

Here are a few common things that can make this occur:

1. Habitually bad posture when sitting at your desk. Typically, you will have your shoulders rounded and forward. This can shorten and tighten the fascia and muscles around the shoulder. Over time this can cause a rounded and forward shoulder posture.

2. Lack of stretching: This goes hand in hand with habitual bad posture. Stretching can help lengthen those tight and short muscles causing the rounded shoulder position.

3. Bad mechanics: This is in relation to exercise mechanics. Similar to having bad posture, sitting at your desk, bad exercise posture can also be a habit. For example, on the bench press a common motion that can occur is the over extension of the shoulder on the extension phase of the exercise. Over time, this can over use muscles such as the Pectoralis Minor and Serratus Anterior. Both of these muscles when they are over used, without much stretching can cause that rounded and forward position of the shoulder.

4. Injury: Trauma and injuries such as minor strains over time can cause scar tissue to build up. Scar tissue from Injuries to muscles and muscle tendons can cause irritation and muscle spasm. This muscle spasm, in the shoulder can present as a rounded and forward shoulder posture.

What muscles can be involved?

You can relieve shoulder pain by trying these exercises that target the muscle or muscle group involved. Remember this is for educational purposes and we recommend you consult with your healthcare provider to advise you on these exercises.

Remember a few rules when you stretch:

1. Breathe through the stretch.

2. Hold for 30 seconds to a minute.

3. Repeat.

4. Feel the stretch and NEVER go to the point of pain.

1. The Pectoral muscles: This includes the Pectoralis Major and Minor. Both of these muscles are very involved in exercises such as bench press or fly and any variation of the exercises. This includes incline bench press, flat dumb bell presses, decline flys etc... Often these powerful muscles can become very short and draw the shoulder blade forward and rotate the shoulder towards the mid-line.

2. The Latissimus Dorsi and Teres Major: The "lats" are a very powerful muscle. It is involved with post pulling exercises that require the shoulder. Tis included lat pulldowns and rows. The Teres Major is a smaller muscles that sits on the "outside edge" of your shoulder blade. The Teres Major is the lats "little helper". In fact these two muscles have the same actions. Similar to the Pectoralis Major, these two can rotate the upper arm towards the midline. This is if these two muscles are very tight and short.

3. The Subscapularis: This is one of the 4 Rotator Cuff muscles. These are a group of muscles that move and stabalize your shoulder. The Subscapularis, unlike the other 3 in the group, rotate the upper arm towards the midline. This rotation can bring the shoulders into a more forward position. In fact this is a muscle that I target in treatment when someone has had chronic neck and shoulder issues.

4. Serratus Anterior: This is that "comb like" looking muscle that sits at the side of your ribcage in the arm pit region. Serratus acts to stabilize the shoulder blade and protracts (moves it laterally and away from the spine). When these muscles become over used, short and tight it can give one a shoulder rounded forward posture.

5. Biceps Brachii

The Stretches for these Muscles

Below are typical stretches that can be used for these particular muscles.

These are just a few of the stretches for these muscles. The key thing is to be sure to do these consistently and diligently. This is especially true, if you also have a desk job and habitually over do exercises such as the push-up, chin-ups, bench presses etc...

You can also add foam rolling and pressure points (if you know how to use them). Hopefully, these tips can ease the pain, prevent injuries and improve your performance! If you still feel that you are being hindered, it can be time to seek a professional who is a specialist in deep tissue massage and one who also aggressively treats the fascia.

More Resources:

This is a video commentary on protecting your shoulder during exercise. Watch now!

Do You have shoulder pain along with symptoms that travel down the arm? You could have Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS). This is a helpful video from our clinic website. Learn about TOS.