Muscle Medicine: The Revolutionary Approach to Maintaining, Strengthening, and Repairing Your Muscles and Joints (22 page)

Troubleshooting:
Don’t press too hard as this can irritate the muscles. Avoid letting the skin slide under the fingers by using constant, angled pressure. Be gentle with the thin muscle over the shoulder joint itself.

UPPER POSTERIOR ARM

Purpose:
To bring the posterior upper-arm muscles (the triceps especially, but also the latissimi dorsi, the teres muscles, the lower traps, and the pectoralis muscles) through their pain-free range of motion. This will warm them up and allow the ends of the ROM to be safely explored.

Starting out:
Stand with your feet spread shoulders’ width apart and your elbow bent. Cup the elbow with the opposite hand.

How to do it:
Bring the elbow up, guided gently by the other hand, and slide the treatment hand (palm side in) down the back as far as is comfortable. Keep the opposite arm lifted so that it frames the head by the end of the movement. This should gently stretch the back of the arm and possibly the side of the body. Hold for a count of two. Repeat with your other arm. Do ten repetitions, held for no more than two seconds each.

Troubleshooting:
Don’t overdo this stretch. Stop before you feel any uncomfortable compression in the shoulder joint. Keep both shoulders down and a good, relaxed posture.

POSTERIOR SHOULDER MUSCLES

Purpose:
To bring the posterior shoulder muscles (posterior deltoid, infraspinatus, rhomboids, latissimi dorsi, and the middle and lower trapezius) through their pain-free range of motion.

Starting out:
Sit or stand with your feet spread shoulders’ width apart and your arm extended to the side. Maintain an upright posture, with the shoulder, elbow, and hand all in one line parallel to the floor.

How to do it:
Bring your arm across the body, using the opposite hand to gently bring the elbow toward the opposite shoulder. You should feel a stretch in the back of the shoulder and into the back. Hold for a count of two. Repeat with your other arm. Do ten repetitions, held for no more than two seconds each.

Troubleshooting:
Don’t crunch the shoulder when pulling with the opposite hand. Keep both shoulders down and a good, relaxed posture.

ANTERIOR SHOULDER MUSCLES

Purpose:
To bring the anterior shoulder muscles (anterior deltoid, pectoralis major and minor, and subscapularis) through their pain-free range of motion. This will warm them up and allow the ends of the ROM to be safely explored. This is a great stretch for everybody.

Starting out:
Stand with your feet spread shoulders’ width apart, your shoulder and elbow in a line parallel to the floor, and your hand raised so that it’s directly above the elbow. The elbow and hand should both be lined up on the inside of a doorway.

How to do it:
Keeping the arm still, turn the head and body away from the arm. There should be a gentle stretch in the front of the shoulder and into the chest. Hold for a count of two. Repeat with your other arm. Do ten repetitions, held for no more than two seconds each.

Troubleshooting:
Don’t let your elbow drop. Keep both shoulders down in a relaxed posture. Don’t overtwist the body, only go to a comfortable position. Discontinue if you feel pain.

TOP OF THE SHOULDER AND POSTERIOR SHOULDER

Purpose:
To strengthen the muscles of external shoulder rotation. This includes a complex movement pattern of muscles: the supra- and infraspinatus, the three trapezius muscles, the posterior and middle deltoids, the rhomboids, and a host of stabilizers. This will warm them up and increase shoulder stabilization.

Starting out:
Stand with your feet shoulders’ width apart. The treatment arm should be straight and across the body, with the hand gripping a flex-band or weight at the opposite hip. The tension of the flexband should be coming from the floor at the side opposite to the treatment side.

How to do it:
Holding the flex-band or weight, and keeping the arm straight, bring the arm out, up, and across the body, so that the hand ends up in line with, or slightly above, the head. Squeeze the shoulder blades in and down to help achieve this. Repeat with your other arm. Do ten repetitions, held for no more than two seconds each.

Troubleshooting:
Do not let the shoulders ride up or keep your neck tense. Keep the arm straight throughout the movement. Remember to squeeze your shoulders blades back and down at the end of each repetition, and keep your back engaged and upright. Don’t use stretch cords or weights that are too resistant or heavy.

POSTERIOR SHOULDER

Purpose:
To strengthen and return function to the muscles of external shoulder rotation: infraspinatus, posterior deltoid, and teres minor. There are fewer dedicated external rotators, so it is important to keep them in balance with the internal rotators. This will warm them up and increase shoulder stabilization. This is an important exercise for posture, and to counteract the effects of computer work, driving—any activity where the arms work in front of the body.

Starting out:
Stand with your feet shoulders’ width apart. The treatment arm should be bent with the elbow touching your side and the forearm parallel to the floor. The elbow and shoulder should be pivoted toward the opposite side as far as is possible without losing the contact between the elbow and the body. The grip of a flex-band should be held in the hand, with the tension of the flex-band coming from the opposite side at the same height as the hand.

How to do it:
Pivot the arm at the shoulder and elbow toward the treatment side of your body, keeping the hand parallel to the floor and the elbow touching your side. Squeeze the shoulder blades in and down to help achieve this. Repeat with your other arm. Do ten repetitions, held for no more than two seconds each. If no flex-band is available, the same exercise can be done with a hand weight in a sidelying position.

Troubleshooting:
Do not let your shoulders ride up or tense your neck. Remember to squeeze the shoulders back at the end of each repetition. Don’t use the rest of your body by twisting or leaning.