Your shoulder joint is the most mobile joint in your body. There are ~16,000 possible shoulder positions. Resulting in an extremely difficult region to comprehend from both a functional and rehabilitative perspective. Here are some tips to help narrow down your shoulder pain location.

Roughly 46% of all shoulder pain originates from the spine. Therefore, both shoulder and spinal exam are essential to find the cause of the pain. If shoulder symptoms increase with movement of the neck or thoracic spine (mid back) , the spine is the most likely source of shoulder pain. As a result, most of your rehab will be focused on spinal movement and strengthening the muscles surrounding the spine itself. The best exercises you can rehab your spine are cat / camels, bird dogs, and side planks!

In the human body, all joints are either primarily stable or mobile. If one is more stable then it lacks mobility such as your hip or ankle. Since the shoulder is the most mobile joint in the body it lacks a significant amount of stability. When an injury occurs, normal joint stability is reduced and full recovery is threatened unless the stability is restored. To improve your shoulder stability, start performing the ABCs and controlled articulated rotations (CARs) on your shoulder joint. These two exercises will help improve stability to an already unstable area.

Establishing the perfect balance between stability and mobility is significant in your shoulder will also be a large emphasis on the lower body. More so in your hip joint. When throwing a ball, the forces generated from the legs, hips, trunk, and shoulder and arm are delivered through a summation via your body’s connective chain and are delivered to the hand. These forces must be timed, directed, and applied in a specific sequence if the body is to work efficiently and effectively. This requires a balance of muscle strength throughout the delivery. For this reason, your hip mechanics must be spot on to ensure your shoulder recovery is on point! Some exercises to ensure you hip mechanics are working well are squats, CARs on your hip joint, and deadlift.

Shoulder pain is extremely difficult to manage and sometimes additional care is required. We at Superior Chiropractic & Rehab are here to help. Call Dr. Polen take advantage of our New Patient Special which includes a FREE Total Body Diagnostic so we can determine if we can help. Call us today!