So you’ve got a shoulder, and that shoulder has got some pain in it, that’s not good! There are so many ways shoulders can get injured. There are a lot of blunt traumas that can cause problems, and there are those niggly repetitive strain injuries that are often the bane of one’s existence. No matter what the cause, one thing is consistently true about shoulder pain, and that is that it causes significant discord between you and your uncooperative upper extremity! It is hard to eat, wash your hair, shave, put on a bra, etc. Sometimes trigger points within the shoulder can refer pain down your arm, causing even more discomfort for you. It can drive you nuts. So what can you do? Definitely seek treatment, and then once you figure out why the pain is there, you can use these videos to help restore harmony to your upper body. You can start with the STRETCHES below, and move on to the STABILIZATION exercises that prep your shoulder for what comes next. An what comes next is perhaps the most sophisticated Rotator Cuff Rehabilitation program I have come across. It was developed by Dr. Dale Buchberger who is a Chiropractor AND a Physiotherapist, and who has worked with MLB baseball teams. This program is the same program he uses to rehab pitchers in the major leagues, and for my money it is the best thing out there. That’s why I use them. I make no bones about it, I did not create them, but I love them, and I thank Dale for allowing their use. They are broken into two days, Day 1 and Day 2. I like to have my patients do cycles of Day 1, Day 2, Day OFF, then repeat. These are meant to be followed EXACTLY. WATCH THE THUMBS in the videos to follow how the movements are supposed to be made. If you have any pain with these, STOP IMMEDIATELY and consult a Chiro or Physio for advise before resuming them.
Tight shoulders can result from work, play, or any combination of those. This is a general overuse situation where the muscles have become tighter than normal and need to be stretched out. The following videos are typical stretches that will assist in releasing tension in the shoulder muscles, and help relieve the feeling of tension in your shoulders.
From time to time shoulders can lose their ability to stabilize the movement of the arm around the torso. Often this is due to failure of the rotator cuff to keep the head of the humerus in the glenohumeral fossa. This can result in upward translation of the head of the humerus with the resultant pinching of the supraspinatus tendon under the acromion of the shoulder blade, a condition we call “Impingement Syndrome”. It can also lead to irritation of the subacromial bursa, resulting in a bursitis which can also cause pain in the shoulder. To correct stabilization issues, perform the exercises below daily to help strengthen the shoulder stabilizers.
You made it, congratulations! Here you will begin your journey to Rotator Cuff Rehabilitation Utopia. Follow the two days in sequence, and take a day off after Day 2, and before resuming Day 1 again. This may take several weeks for you to notice the change, so be patient and stick with it!
