Luttrell Physical Therapy

The shoulder is the most commonly injured body part for those who participate in any type of exercise. When was the last time you put your arms over your head, like all the way over your head beside the gym? Most likely you lift your arms up to wash your hair or put dishes away in high cabinets, maybe use the hand grip to get out of your truck but considering how many hours there are in a day that is not much. Therein lies the problem, if we do not use it we lose it and our body does not get stronger or aware of full motion so in turn the brain sets off its alarm system, pain. Most times the alarm is not a real issue but when we do something like return to the gym after an absence or our coach programs push press, pull ups, push ups, sn**ch, wall balls and strict press all in the same week that is a lot of demand on our shoulders and big spike in training volume. As a coach and physical therapist this is usually when I hear “my shoulders have been bothering me” or “I think I did something to my shoulder”. In most cases we have not done any permanent damage rather just irritated the tissues.

So what do we need to do? We need to train our shoulders to tolerate and be prepared for end ranges of motion and an increase in volume. This video shows an example of an exercise I like to use to help improve your shoulder stability, try to incorporate this exercise into your normal routine.

Complete 2 times a week for 6 weeks. Each side you will do 2 sets of 15 reps increasing that to 3 sets of 12 reps in 3 weeks.
I love this exercise because it is so simple but has a huge impact not only are we getting into our end range of motion but we are also working on the often underutilized and forgotten muscle the lower trap. This will help us not only to be more stable overhead but create a safer pattern for us to perform exercises overhead diminishing the risk of serious injury.
I love this exercise because it is so simple but has a huge impact not only are we getting into our end range of motion but we are also working on the often underutilized and forgotten muscle the lower trap. This will help us not only to be more stable overhead but create a safer pattern for us to perform exercises overhead diminishing risk of serious injury.

Make sure to keep your head down on the bench and perform one arm at a time and move within your comfortable range of motion to start.

If you have any questions or you are experiencing pain and want a licensed professional to check out your shoulder email me at [email protected] or check out my website to set up a free consultation. https://codyluttrelldpt.wixsite.com/luttrelldpt