Top 3 Self Care Techniques for Shoulder Pain

I recently put together a webinar about the mechanics of shoulder pain. It covers the anatomy and the mechanics of the most common cause of pain in the shoulder – impingement syndrome. 

This blog is going to skip all of the nerdy bits of biomechanics and skip right to the ‘how-to’ section.

There are truly countless ways the shoulder can hurt and countless stretches and tricks on the internet for how to fix it. These fixes all have their time and place and exist because they each helped somebody somewhere. If what I present today doesn’t clearly help your shoulder pain or are painful to perform then feel free to come in and we can find a more specific solution to your problem.

I want to present my 3 favorite and most useful techniques that you can do at home. You will need a rubber ball, yoga mat and 2-8lb weight. Let’s have a look.

Rolling the Anterior Deltoid

Rolling is kind of like a massage or trigger point release. It can be painful, but it needs to be what I call ‘good pain’. Good pain is like a massage, where you say ‘Oh, that hurts. But please push harder.’ That is the pain I want with this technique, if it hurts in a nervy pain zing or is way too sharp then don’t do it.

1. Lay face down on the yoga mat with your affected arm out to the side with the elbow bent at 90deg and your palm facing up. 
2. Place the ball under the front of your shoulder. Make small movements to roll the ball around until you find a ‘good sore’ spot.
3. Lay still on the peak of the pain (don’t let it go above a 7-8/10) and wait for the pain to slowly dissipate over the next 30 seconds. If the pain doesn’t reduce after 30 sec then stop, this one is not for you.
4. Repeat 2-3 more times in near by spots

Table top stretch

This stretch is great for nearly everyone! It really helps with the desk sitter and chronic sloucher. Yes, I’m looking at you.

1. Sit on your yoga mat with knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
2. With straight arms and palms flat on the ground and located under your shoulders. Turn your fingers to point outward to start. 
3. First breath in and lift your chest up to the ceiling, only then start to lift your bum up off the ground
4. Only lift your hips as far as they will go without allowing your chest to fall. Focus on the chest being the highest point, keep breathing in and lifting your sternum up!
5. For added tension, slowly drift your body toward your feet.
6. Hold for up to 30 seconds, But this one is hard! If there is sharp pain in the front of your shoulders then don’t do this one.

Weighted arm circles

This is an activation and strengthening exercise. I like to perform it at the end only after we loosen up the key restrictions. It can be performed without weight but I find 2-8lb is enough to challenge the key muscles.

1. Stand with feet firm on the floor, arms straight down at your side, weight in hand.
2. The arm will generally be travelling in a backstroke motion. However, the key to this movement is to always have your palm facing in the direction of motion!
3. Draw a large circle while moving slowly and smoothly. Try and draw a circle with your hand and each pass try and make an even larger circle than the time before
4. The trick is to flip your arm at the top of the motion to continue to have the palm leading the way.

In health,

Aaron Coulthard, M.OMSc