Your shoulders let you reach out and touch the world. Shoulders allow you to position your hand where you want to do what you want, whether that is to hug someone, throw something, catch something, dance, rock climb, reach for an item, or whatever makes you happy. When your shoulder hurts it puts a kink in your life. Often times shoulder pain can keep you up at night, cause headaches and is certainly annoying. Shoulder pain can be frustrating, confusing, and depressing. To really figure out what is going on you need a thorough assessment by a professional who understands the shoulder, biomechanics, and how it connects to the rest of your body and life. At Kineci we believe in a holistic approach in which we understand and appreciate that your shoulder is not isolated but an integrated part of Your Body-Mind-&-Spirit.
Your shoulders are very mobile joints to allow you to position your hand in space which comes with less stability. Both your shoulders and hips are ball-in-socket joints but the hip joint is much more stable because the socket is deeper and ultimately you have less range-of-motion in the hip compared to your shoulder. Your shoulder is a ball-in-socket joint and has a more shallow socket which allows for greater range-of-motion. But because of this shallow socket design it is less stable. That means your neuromuscular system has to work harder to stabilize your shoulder to allow it to perform all the things it does positioning your hand where you want it.
One of the key elements to understand about your shoulder is how it is connected to and integrated with the rest of your body. Your shoulder blades are the base to your shoulder. You can think of it as the base of your crane with your arm being a long crane arm positioning your hand out in space. When you pick up an object that is like adding a big weight to the end of the crane. The base, your shoulder blade, must be able to move around your back to allow your shoulder to position your hand where you want it. Shoulder issues often come from your shoulder blade getting stuck. Shoulder blades can get glued down to your upper back and ribs which will lead to shoulder problems.
Addressing shoulder blade mobility along with your upper back mobility are vital for a happy, healthy shoulder.
Another often overlooked factor is how your shoulders are connected to your hips. Tennis is a great example of how your hips are connected and produce power for your shoulders. If you imagine a tennis player going for a big backhand swing the power does not come from the arms. As the body gets into position to make a forceful swing the hips are loaded to produce the power that the shoulders cannot create on their own.
Your whole body works together as an integrated machine. If there is a limitation in your hips it can affect your shoulders and visa versa. Assessing and addressing any limitations in your hips can be a crucial part of really helping your shoulders get back to normal.
If your shoulder is bothering you here are 3 simple exercises and 3 tips you can do to help yourself start to feel better and move easier. Download this Free Report
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