A common problem I come across is shoulder pain, and specifically pain when the arm is taken above the head. Flexion and external rotation.

There are a variety of reasons why this could be the case, but in this article i shall discuss the most common I see in people and what you can do bring about better mobility and less pain.

Let’s start with whether there has actually be an injury.

The shoulder is the most flexible joint in the human body. It is also one of the most complex, with a greater range of motion than any other joint. It enables us to raise, bend, rotate and swing our arms.

Because of this ability to move in so many ways it is also why, if we fall, or have some kind of sudden impact, it can be vulnerable. If we fall incorrectly we often extend our arms to ‘break’ the fall, comprimising the joint.

Something I reccomend to most people is actually learning how to fall correctly. You learn this sometimes in childhood, and maybe when we learn a new sport such as skiing, but myself personally I learnt this in martial arts. In Judo we call this ‘break falling’ so we learn how to distribute the weight and impact so we don’t hurt out joints.

Learning how to breakfall can save our wrists and shoulders when we land. Me performing a single leg takedown.

If we have a sudden impact, or over extend the shoulder in some way it’s possible to tear the labrum, or potentially a part of the rotator cuff in the shoulder. These two inuries are the most common.

The labrum is a type of cartilage found in the shoulder joint. The shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint where the arm meets the body. The arm bone (humerus) forms a ball at the shoulder that meets the socket, which is part of the shoulder blade.

The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles are: supraspinatus muscle : infraspinatus muscle : teres minor muscle :subscapularis muscle.

The symptoms for these injuries are quite similar with pain at rest and at night, especially if you are lying on the affected shoulder: pain when lifting and lowering your arm or with specific movements: weakness when lifting or rotating your arm: crepitus, or a crackling sensation, when moving your shoulder in certain positions.

You will only know for sure if there has been a tear from some kind from imaging such as an MRI, but as i have said in previous posts this can be misleading and in my opinion doesn’t change so much what you would do to rehab the shoulder in itself.

Personally I would also avoid any kind of surgery and only have that in your mind as a last resort if you have a tear.

Strength and mobility work is your friend.

In my experience a tear or injury to this area is very uncommon and I would say in almost all cases it is due to weakness, or a lack of mobility in said area. Especially in today’s modern culture we are becoming less and less mobile and much more sedentary with long periods of sitting and our back and shoulders in a forward rounded position. If you do this for long enough the body adapts and mobile joints become stiff, weak and potentially painful.

We want to stregthen the rotator cuff so it feels stable and strong and mobilise the lats and upper back so the scapula ( shoulder blade ) is able to move freely.

What i usually see in people who have pain or difficulty raising thier arms over thier heads in tight lats. Latissimus dorsi.

Some basic postures to get into this area to free up the shoulder would be puppy pose: Uttana Shishosana, and variations of hanging.

Hanging from a bar is excellent for releasing some tension in the shoulder joint and depressing the scapula.

Another good way to get into the rotator cuff is some form of massage. Sometimes in my own practice this area can become a little unhappy so I use a yoga block as shown below to loosen up the musculature there.

Bear as much weight as you can and hang out on the tender areas until it subsides. No more than 10 minutes per session.

Allow the edge of the block to press into the lats.

These individual exercices can help with shoulder pain but what is needed is a regular yoga / mobility routine to work on the whole body as this type of tension is not isolated to one area and needs regular movement to keep everything supple, strong and free.

In The Better Moblity Guide I have put together years of study and practice into a series of sequences such as The Element Series, drills, exercices and tutorials to help alleviate pain and stiffness so you can gain better moblity with less sensitivity. Also included is a hanging sequence i have designed specifically to work on different types of shoulder inpingement and rotator cuff injures that help remove tension.

What we are looking for is nice and loose shoulders that are strong and stable so we can open our back and spine for better moblity.

Me practicing Urdhva Dhanurasana. Bridge pose. Open and strong shoulder joints.

For more information on how to gain access to The Better Moblity Guide, The Element Series, and detailed instructions on lots more, please check out the link below:

The Better Mobility Guide

Shoulder pain lifting your arm over your head