34. [4 Stretches to Relieve Shoulder Pain]
Hello.
I'm Shin, a personal trainer.
Better late than never, I wish you all a happy new year.
I have structured this post as Conclusion -> Explanation -> Self-introduction, so if you are busy, you can just look at the [Conclusion (Answer)] and think, 'I see.'
For those who want to deepen their understanding, I have included an [Explanation] after the [Conclusion], so I would appreciate it if you could read that as well.
As the title suggests, this time I will introduce 4 recommended stretches to relieve shoulder pain.
I often prescribe these in my practice, so please take a look.
[Conclusion]
- Latissimus dorsi stretch
- Pectoralis major (pectoralis minor) stretch
- Shoulder stretch (inner muscles)
These stretches are recommended.
[Explanation]
Latissimus dorsi stretch ⬇️
and place one hand forward
and pull your hips back
Imagine increasing the distance between your hand and your hips
Broadly speaking, the latissimus dorsi is the muscle around your armpit.
If you feel a stretch in your armpit (the side of your body) with the above stretch, that's perfect.
When you continue the same posture for a long time, such as during desk work,stiffness, adhesions, or poor gliding of the latissimus dorsican occur, makingthe action of raising your arm (abduction) difficult.
The strongest action of the latissimus dorsi is 'adduction,' which pulls the upper limb (arm) toward the trunk (body).
To put it simply, it is 'the movement of lowering your arm from a raised position.'
It's easy to understand if you imagine a pull-up, but since the direction of contraction is toward the center of the body, when it becomes stiff,it hinders movements like raising your arm or moving from near the body (center) to far away.
If you cannot perform the action of raising your arm, you may compensate by arching your lower back, which can lead to lower back pain.
Improving the flexibility and gliding of the latissimus dorsi through stretching and training is effective for preventing shoulder pain.
Pectoralis major and pectoralis minor stretch ⬇️
Set it so your palm is against the wall
Bring your chest toward the wall
If you feel a pulling sensation in your chest, that's perfect.
Chest muscles aremuscles that tend to become stiff in modern society.
This is because we generally perform tasks with our hands in front of our bodies, such as PC work, driving, and using smartphones.
When chest muscles become stiff,it can promote poor posture like hunched shoulders and cause shallow breathing, creating a vicious cycle.
In terms of shoulder pain,stiffness in the pectoralis minor causes the shoulder blade to tilt forward and rotate inward,leading to rounded shoulders and impingementsyndrome, making shoulder pain more likely.
Many people may find it a blind spot to stretch their chest for shoulder pain, but in reality, many people suffer from shoulder pain caused by their pectoralis minor or pectoralis major.
Please try stretching them.
Shoulder inner muscle stretch ⬇️
Lie on your side with your shoulder and elbow at about 90 degrees
Be careful not to let your shoulder lift too much
Focus on rotating your right hand toward the floor and your left hand toward the ceiling
and twist outward as shown in the diagram
Finally, this is a stretch for the shoulder inner muscles, the 'rotator cuff'.
The rotator cuff refers to the four inner muscles:'supraspinatus,' 'infraspinatus,' 'teres minor,' and 'subscapularis,'and these are muscles that easily become a source of shoulder pain.
Since they function to rotate the arm inward and outward, they are used frequently in daily life.
When these muscles similarly become stiff, develop adhesions, or suffer from poor gliding and stop functioning, it affects various movements of the shoulder joint.
The rotator cuff is a delicate muscle group and is easily influenced by outer muscles (the latissimus dorsi and pectoralis major mentioned earlier).
Although it may seem subtle, it is an extremely important muscle group.
In weight training, people often focus on the latissimus dorsi and pectoralis major, and these muscles also possess great strength.
In contrast, inner muscles like the rotator cuff tend to be neglected.
The pectoralis major and latissimus dorsi have strong force in the inward rotation (internal rotation) direction, but the important role of the rotator cuff is to provide the force for outward rotation (external rotation) to counter that. (Some parts have a function in the internal rotation direction, but I will omit that here.)
Inner muscles are muscles close to the bone, but when the balance of power between them and the strong outer muscles is lost, it can also cause impingement.
If possible, it is effective to incorporate inner muscle training using bands or similar equipment.
I will introduce these on another occasion.
That is all for today!
[Self-introduction]
Age: 26 (Born in 1999)
Hometown: Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture
Favorite food: Seafood, strawberries
Hobbies: Coffee, radio, hot springs
Trainer/Training experience: 8th year
Competition results: JBBF Men's Physique
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