Do you have tight and sore shoulders or upper back? Try our exercise for shoulder pain relief with a foam roller.
Hi this is Dana Ranahan at Body Works Sports Physiotherapy in North Vancouver. Today I want to show you a foam roller technique you can do quickly to help get rid of some tension around the shoulder area. This often happens when you sit at work for a long time, carry heavy things, or carry a purse or a backpack on your shoulder.
When using a foam roller, one of the things you can do is come onto your side and bring the foam roller into the armpit area. So it’s almost as if you’re watching TV on your side. This will get at some of the muscles in the back of the shoulder blade – your lat muscles and the back of the rotator cuff.
- If it’s really super tight and sore, first just put some pressure onto it and try to get it to let go or relax
- Then you can work on rolling that area.
- Now you can also roll back a little bit to get onto the back of the shoulder which is really nice, loosening things up.
- And finally you can come forward onto the front and get some releasing through the pec muscle at the front of the chest.
After you’ve rolled these areas, the shoulder should feel a bit freer and not so pulled down on that side.
So that’s our tip today. Give that a try at home and see how you make out. For more information check out our other shoulder mobility videos or give us a call to see how we can help you.