7/3/2023 0 Comments Shoulder mobility![]() ![]() If your upper back is stiff, or if your scapula can’t move, you’ll limit your total shoulder mobility. Your ability to move and protect this one joint depends on your ability to move and stabilize your scapula. Stretches To Increase Shoulder MobilityĪs mentioned earlier, the shoulder is comprised of more than just the glenohumeral joint. These movements require full overhead mobility, and you’re at a high risk of injury if you perform them with poor form and technique. ![]() If you feel a strain in your shoulder when extending your arm up by your ear, then you should avoid exercises like a basic military press or snatch. Proper shoulder range is critical not only to creating powerful athletic movements, but also to help prevent common injuries such as impingement.Ī person with healthy shoulders is able to reach straight overhead without pain, and without having to arch their back or flare their ribs. If your shoulder range-of-motion is limited, your ability to transfer forces across your body also becomes hindered. Lack of Shoulder Flexibility = Lack of Power Combined with the coordinated turning and rotation of your body, your arm can then whip around and launch itself forward to throw the ball at high speeds. This retracted shoulder position creates a pre-stretch on your front-body muscles (your anterior deltoid, pecs, and abs in particular), just like the pulling of a bow-string. Full movement (and especially retraction of your shoulder blade) is vital to creating a full wind-up, which helps to unleash and transfer all of the power from your body into your arm. I’m going to give you an example from baseball to highlight the importance of shoulder and torso flexibility. Full Movement Is Critical To Optimal Power Generation ![]() Without the help of your trunk to generate power, your shoulder has to do all of the work, which can cause it to wear down faster. You might even feel a strain on your shoulder. You’ll probably notice that you’re not able to throw as far as you normally could. Without adequate flexibility in the rest of your body, you tend to cause more wear-and-tear on your shoulder.įor instance, try throwing a ball as far as you can without moving or turning your trunk. However, it’s just as important to maintain the flexibility of the muscles and joints that support the glenohumeral joint – mainly your scapula (shoulder blade) and your upper trunk. When most people think of shoulder flexibility, they typically focus solely on the glenohumeral joint (the ball-and-socket joint where your arm bone connects to your shoulder bone). This wouldn’t be possible without full flexibility of the shoulder complex. That’s about 24 full revolutions in just 1 second. For instance, when a baseball pitcher throws, his arm can rotate around the shoulder at around 8500 degrees per second. It’s this mobility that enables us to perform powerful athletic motions in multiple directions. As such, the shoulder has the greatest range-of-motion of all the joints in the body. This structure allows for an incredible amount of motion, from reaching all the way above your head to behind your back. If you look at the anatomy of the shoulder joint, you might notice that it kind of looks like a golf ball on a tee.
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