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Chiropractic and Shoulder Problems Part 4

© Dr. David L. Phillips

As I said way back in Part 1 of this series, shoulder problems most often result from muscle imbalances, perhaps now after reading the first 3 parts you can understand why that is so. Maybe you can also see a solution, certainly a preventive one. Shoulder problems are far easier to prevent that to heal. It's a case of closing the gate before the horse gets away.

There are excellent home exercises that we should all do in the interest of helping to keep our shoulders healthy. And if shoulder pains have begun, these exercises will go a long way to healing as well. You simply can't adequately heal a shoulder problem without some form of exercise.

Remembering that we need to have that all-important downward sliding effect going properly to save our tendons and bursae, this exercise is designed to strengthen the muscles of the rotator cuff. It will take you 90 seconds to do this with each arm. Is that time well spent, or what?

Simply stand at a 45 degree angle to a wall and raise your arm so that your hand is on the wall straight out from the side/front of your body. Now press you hand against the wall, hard, for 10 seconds. This is called an isometric exercise. Isometric contraction in a muscle occurs when the muscle is working, but not moving. As opposed to concentric contraction when the muscle works and shortens. Then there's eccentric contraction when the muscle works, but lengthens.

Anyway, about this exercise, you need to turn your hand all the way around as far as it will go, to the 4 o'clock position (or 8 o'clock, it doesn't matter which). Now press hard and hold for 10 seconds. Now move your hand to the 3 (or 9) o'clock position and press hard again. After 10 seconds move your hand to the next spot on the clock and continue going around the clock until you reach 8 o'clock (or 4 o'clock, depending on where you started). You should have pressed 10 seconds on each of 9 hours on the imaginary clock.

Another great way to strengthen your shoulder is by using rubber tubes or exercise bands. Performing active concentric motions against the pull of these simple and inexpensive devices really helps shoulders to recover normal joint motion. One end of the rubber tube is tied to a doorknob or leg of a chair or bed and you pull your arm through various ranges of motion. A series of common rubber band exercises for the shoulder can be found wherever you pick up the bands.

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