Do you get shoulder pain? Many people get shoulder pain from different activities, such as:
- Sports, such as baseball and tennis
- Poor posture
- Driving
- Sitting at the computer for too long.
Sometimes, people will even get an arc of pain when they raise their arm. Most times the rotator cuff muscles are involved when this happens.
The rotator cuff is a group of muscles around the shoulder that help to control the ball and socket movement of the shoulder. They keep things balanced, so it lessens pain. Often we get imbalances around the shoulder. Here’s Jamie to show you an exercise for rotator cuff activation through lifting the arm, to help you learn to move better.
We’re going to show you another exercise for the shoulder. This one is a combination of rotator cuff activation and scapular stability.
Rotator Cuff Activation and Scapular Stability
- Hold a cloth or bungee cord with hands shoulder width apart at waist height.
- Put a bit of tension on the towel to start activating the rotator cuff, which includes all the muscles at the back of the shoulder blade.
- Slowly elevate your arms in front of you.
- Concentrate on keeping the upper shoulder calm and almost try to slide the armpits forward, if that makes sense.
- What we’re doing is keeping the rotator cuff active while working on scapular stability.
This one is actually quite fatiguing, so usually what I try to do is two sets of about 10, just up and down and then relax.
Often times we would do it in front of a mirror so that you can make sure the shoulder blades stay level. I find the cue of trying to push the armpits forward as opposed to elevating the arms makes a big difference for a lot of people.
For more information, call us at 604-983-6616 or check out our other shoulder exercise videos.