This Simple Test Reveals What's Wrong With Your Shoulder

Are you struggling with the shoulder problems? Is sleeping on your side difficult or does your arm feel painful when using properly? In most of the cases shoulder issues stems from the weakness in just few key muscles. This weakness gradually leads to pain and starts interfering more and more in everyday activities.

You are not alone and in this video you are going to get excellent guidance how to get rid of this annoying problem. The last exercise in the video is gentle storybook style extra for those who has really painful shoulders. It's a perfect starting point if you are in that phase. But to understand the full picture, I highly recommend watching the entire video from start to the finish.

Before we dive into the topic itself, here is a really handy test you can try to check the core of this problem. Stand in upright posture against the door frame. Raise your arm to the front of the body and make sure that your armpit has 90 degree angle. When your forearm is pointing straight forward, start rotating the back of the hand as far as possible from the door frame.

Test both sides and if you are not able to rotate outwards, well, that is the key point in here. The shoulder's problem is that it's most mobile joint in the body and that mobility makes it so vulnerable. The most common issues in the shoulder area include inflammation and tears. These are typically caused by overuse or aging.

The rotator cuff takes the hit, resulting in pain during the reaching or in lifting. Instability. This refers in inability to shoulder stabilizing muscles to keep the joint in place, causing it to shift around. Impingement.

Because of the shoulder's complex anatomy, the muscle and tendons can get compressed under the bony roof, causing pain and dysfunction. Osteoarthritis. This is an age-related wear and tear, but aging doesn't always equal pain. Degenerative changes are normal and osteoarthritis affects anyone to some degree.

Overuse or strain injuries. These occur when somebody does too much too soon, but who hasn't made that mistake? So, which muscles should we actually train to deal with these kind of weary shoulder issues? Unfortunately, even professionals sometimes forget how crucial the external rotator muscles of the shoulder area are.

Here's the thing. We usually instruct to train the internal and external rotators by keeping the elbow tucked to the sides. But if your pain is triggered when your arm is raised, that side of the body exercise angle misses the mark. It's just not effective in those higher positions.

Once we train the external rotators, mainly infraspinatus under the spine of the scapula and the teres minor, what do we achieve? The prevent dislocation, help to maintain proper shoulder alignment, the reduce impingement and especially during overhead activities. External rotators counter as a chest muscle. They prevent dislocation, help maintain proper shoulder alignment and reduce impingement, especially during overhead activities.

External rotators counteract the chest muscles, which are often over-trained. These smaller muscles are key to pain-free shoulder mobility. Now ask yourself, when you are lifting the weights or working out, are you really doing anything meaningful for your shoulder external rotators? If the answer is no or I don't know, then today is a perfect day to start training them.

And what do we need for these exercises? A small piece of this corset resistance band, a heavier dumbbell or even large water bottle will do. Super resistance band press. Lie on your back, wrap the resistance band around your wrist and stretch it so the arms point straight towards the ceiling.

It's crucial that your forearms stay in alignment vertically. If your arms drift out to the sides, your rotator cuff won't be activating properly and the exercise lose its purpose. Pull your shoulders back in this position, push your arms towards the ceiling while keeping your wrist and elbows alignment. Do the repetitions for 10 to 15 and take short rest.

If your arms start drifting to the sides right away, keep the movements small. You don't want to teach the shoulders a bad habit. Horizontal band pull apart. Again, wrap the band around your wrist, arms pointing upwards.

Wrist outside the elbows and shoulder blades are pulled back. Pull your arms apart as far as you can, then you will going to feel the burn between the shoulder blades pretty quickly. Do as many repetitions as your soul can handle and you are good to go. Push on towels.

Grab a dumbbell or water bottle. Place the towel or wool sock under the arm for smooth gliding. Rest your opposite hand under the face, lift your chest slightly off from the ground and keep your chin tucked. From here, push the weight upwards.

If the thumb would be extended, it would point towards the ceiling. This thoroughly activates the external rotators. Keep pushing through the full range. Variation 120 degrees press.

Change the angle by pressing diagonally upwards to 120 degrees. With the elbow close to your body, push the weight in diagonal motion until the elbow is fully extended. Then return with control. Bonus exercise.

Fairytale workout. Lie on your side with the painful side at the top. This one is very important that your elbow stays below the wrist height wise. If your elbow rise above the wrist, it activates strong muscles and these are the ones what we want to avoid.

Start with the foam and resting against your body. From here, lift your hand upwards in a controlled arc across the front of the body. If you want to target specific angles like 90 to 120 in forward elevation, grab small water bottle and move through those range slowly. Do these exercises three to four times per week and you don't need to go all out every time.

The most important thing is the consistency. Consistent training builds up the muscle control and the endurance and that's when the progress really starts to happening. How long should you train? Great question.

Most people start seeing results in two to four weeks as they go when they stick with the plan. If your job is physically demanding, strength gains might show around 8 to 12 weeks. Yes, it takes time but here's the fun part. You will going to likely notice improvements in the everyday activities even sooner.

Reaching the high shelves, putting on the shirt or sleeping on your sore side starts getting easier and these are the small daily victories and you will going to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Remember also, recovery isn't linear but some days are better, some are worse but what matters the most is that you are doing the right thing consistently. If you are looking for the simple maintenance tips for your shoulder, this video is excellent for that.