Simple Changes Can Help Shoulder Pain

By Marcy Wright Reoch, BSc, RMT

Since the beginning of 2014, I have seen more shoulder-related patients than I can count. Some patients present with pain between their shoulder blades, and others with pain over the Deltoid muscle (the side or front aspect of the shoulder). Sometimes, the pain can travel down the arm. Whatever the aggravating case, the shoulder complex always seems to be in a compromised position.
The shoulder joint is made up of four joints that together are called the shoulder complex. These joints are the sternum (chest bone) and clavicle (collar bone), clavicle and scapula (shoulder blade), scapula on the ribs, and the humerus (upper arm) in the scapula.  Don’t get bogged down in the anatomy, and remember to try to keep your shoulder comfortable and open. Try keeping your chest open during everyday life, whether sitting at a desk, driving in your car, working out at the gym, or playing with your children. Think of what a confident person’s posture looks like. By practicing to open through our chest, we discourage the rounding through our shoulders and collapsing our chest. We are pulling our scapulae together and down our back by keeping our chest open. We are depressing our clavicles. Hence, they are horizontal when looking in the mirror instead of being diagonal, and we are positioning the head of the humerus (upper arm bone) in its neutral resting point in our armpit.
When we practice poor postural habits, the alignment of our shoulder girdle is inefficient and unsupported and allows risk for injury. Muscles might be working too hard, and pain, inflammation, weakness, headache, and other symptoms may arise. By practicing good postural habits through our shoulders, chest and upper back, we allow the soft tissue to rest comfortably when we are at rest. Then, when we choose to move, the musculature is in its most efficient, supported, and most vital position through the range of motion.
Standing up tall and engaging through your abdomen is a great way to set your shoulders into a good position. Now, squeeze the muscles between your scapula (shoulder blades), pulling your scapula closer together and then pulling them down your back. Once you have done this, acknowledge where your head is. Most people's heads will be too far forward and must be pulled back into proper alignment. So, think of a string pulling the top of your head upwards. This will elongate your neck and retract your chin from jutting forward.
It is important once you have an understanding of good shoulder positioning, to check in with yourself throughout the day. If you sit at a desk, you can put a red sticky dot on the monitor that will remind you to re-evaluate your posture every time you look at the dot. If you are driving in your car, place the seat upright. The biofeedback from the seat on your shoulder blades and the back of your head will help you recognize poor posture and allow you to correct it. When at the gym, it is important to always align your shoulders before entering a new set of your workout. This will help prevent injury by supporting the joint and allowing the muscles to work as efficiently in order to gain strength and endurance as quickly as possible.

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