We get a lot of questions about shoulder injuries, shoulder rehab, and the shoulder in general….so here are a few bits of background info and a few suggestions regarding what we typically see in terms of shoulder injuries and what we do about them in terms of rehab. 

 

The shoulder is one of the most complicated joints in the human body.  It is the body’s most mobile joint complex, having a large range of motion in a wide variety of planes and is responsible for a large number of one’s daily activities……this is what makes the shoulder so unstable and much more susceptible to injury. 

 

It is made up of three bones and four separate joints as well as fifteen muscles, numerous ligaments and a joint capsule that come together to form the shoulder girdle. 

 

Any one of these bones, joints, muscles, or ligaments can be the cause of shoulder pain and they all should be evaluated by a chiropractor or orthopedist, so you know where exactly the pain is coming from. 

 

By far the most common injury/symptom that we see involving the shoulder is……… generalized shoulder pain.   Not that glamorous, is it?  Not dislocations or AC separations, not even rotator cuff tears. Nope. Just generalized shoulder pain.  Patients usually can’t really indentify where exactly the pain is (“it just kinda hurts all over”), how or when it started.  It just hurts.  Through x-rays and exam we usually narrow it down either arthritis, impingement syndrome, or some combination of the two.  The other common one is tendonitis of the rotator cuff.   

 

In any case, we treat these shoulder injuries in much the same way. Adjust the back, neck and shoulder, perform therapy if needed, and start rehabilitative exercises as soon as pain symptoms are under control enough to do so.   

 

For rehab, we suggest keeping it simple. We virtually always start with planks; progressing from low planks, to high planks, to up and down (super) planks, and finally to super planks with a floor dip and renegade rows.  Farmer’s walks are another big one that we use.  As heavy as the patient can tolerate while maintaining good form, shoulders pulled up and rolled back, pinching the shoulder blades together.  (If you have Indian clubs or Ropes Gone Wild, they can both also be great for maintaining/regaining range of motion and building strength)  As the patient progresses, we start to add over head motions; light cleans and presses, windmills, etc. to continue to work on strength gains and stability in the entire shoulder complex.  

 

If you are experiencing shoulder pain, get it checked out by your chiropractor or orthopedist.  Be safe with these exercises and listen to your body, it is better to take it a little slow than to push too hard too fast and end up with a more serious injury than you started with!   

 

If you have any questions about these exercises or kettlebells as they relate to specific injuries or therapeutic exercise, please feel free send us an email at punchgym.wi@gmail.com with “Women’s Page” in the subject line, we’ll get back to you as soon as we can and we may pick some of your questions to include in another Women’s Page article. 

 

 

 

Happy New year! Time to kick that fitness program into gear and get serious about clean eating. Here’s a cool workout that we’ve been doing here at Punch South Bend. This workout was inspired by the 12 days of Christmas but we have adapted it and renamed it! This workout was written by Rick Freeman, Head Trainer, Punch South Bend.

 

Perform the first five exercises as a flow all on ONE SIDE, add the next exercise each time, then perform the previous exercises. Perform all twelve exercises on one side, then all on the other side. Example: 1. Then , 2 + 1.  Then 3 + 2 + 1… You get the idea.

 

 

 

 

Every year Staci takes some time out for herself and heads out for some R&R.  Her destination this year?…Boca Raton, and at her daughter’s urging she’s taking this suit with her, which makes this one of her top goals for 2010!  Check it out at FiuFiu.com or just click the image.

 

 

Eat This for this week is one of Staci’s “go to” meals when she’s too tired to cook but needs to stay healthy. Her choice, tuna fish.  Loaded with protein tuna also contains selenium which has been shown to buffer against the sun and preserve elastin in your skin.