Today we worked with a woman who has a pretty limited range of motion on one of her shoulders. When she first came in, she could not lift her arm up in front of her past her chin. What we did to help to move better might surprise you, but by the end, she could get it to her ear with no pain. To help we did two things. First, we did a pressing motion (bench press) on the opposite side arm. Second, we had her mobilize her opposite side hip. Third, we had her mobilize her same side wrist. Why the heck did any of this help her shoulder move better?? You see, the body is not a series of independent parts, it is one continuous system, and when you work one area, you have the potential to impact all other parts of the body. The press was key because it helped us to rotate her shoulders back toward the side that was stuck. The hip motion was important because when your hips are not moving well, your shoulders will naturally be limited do to poor walking patterns (think about it, your left leg works in coordination with your right arm when walking). The last piece was all about arm tension. If the wrist or hand is holding tension, everything above it will also be tense. By loosening up the wrist, the shoulder naturally loosened as well.
Posted on: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 22:02:39 +0000
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