Welcome to the “Deadlift: Proper Form” series! Maybe you’ve just started lifting weights. Maybe you’re a trainer who wants to learn the nitty gritty about the deadlift. Whatever the case, welcome! In this article, I’m going to focus on the “active shoulder” and its importance in proper deadlift form. I’m going to explain:What the active shoulder isHow […]
Continue readingWhat are the key muscles of the deadlift? Part 3: The Trapezius Welcome to the “Deadlift: Muscles Worked” series! Maybe you’ve just started lifting weights. Maybe you’re a trainer who wants to learn the nitty gritty about this exercise. Whatever the case, welcome!In this article, we’re going to focus on the “trapezius”. The entire trapezius muscle (comprised […]
Continue readingWhy are shoulder labral tears important to talk about?Shoulder pain is extremely common. A 2003 study in the Netherlands estimated that shoulder pain is the second most common complaint after lower back pain. Another 2011 study in the same country estimated that 3 out of 100 people goes to a general practitioner due to shoulder […]
Continue readingYou’ve got shoulder pain. Should you get a shoulder X-ray? Is what you see in a shoulder X-ray useful? What if a shoulder X-ray shows nothing? Or, what if it shows something? What can you do with the information you get from a shoulder X-ray?The most common myth about shoulder X-rays for shoulder painStress, among […]
Continue readingIf you’re suffering with shoulder pain or you’re somebody who helps others with shoulder pain, you may have encountered a battery of tests to help you figure out what’s causing the shoulder pain. In the medical world, there’s a diagnosis called “shoulder impingement” or subacromial impingement that you can test for. There are at least […]
Continue readingIf you’ve ever gotten bored of doing regular pushups, you may have started thinking about doing wide pushups (AKA wide grip pushups) to hit more of your chest muscles. Whenever someone starts experimenting with wide pushups, there’s a high risk of two things: you feel shoulder pain you don’t feel shoulder pain but someone tells […]
Continue readingThere are a lot of people out there with painful shoulders searching for that magic shoulder stability exercise. As someone who had his right shoulder constantly sublux (several times a year) throughout college, I understand how annoying and painful shoulder instability is. It took me a long time to get my right shoulder feeling stable […]
Continue readingThese days, a lot of us travel for work. Business consultants, software engineers, and even trainers like me find ourselves working in coffee shops, restaurants, and hotel rooms on our laptops. So when you’re on the go, how can you make your workstation as ergonomic as possible? In this article, we’ll talk about 3 quick […]
Continue readingIf you have shoulder pain and someone has told you that it’s coming from a labral tear, you may feel like your only option is surgery. After all, if something in your shoulder is torn, how could you possibly be able to do anything to fix it besides having surgery? You can’t possibly go in […]
Continue readingIf you’ve been told you have Shoulder Impingement that needs to be surgically repaired, you may have a lot of questions. Surgery for shoulder impingement is often suggested when rest and PT fail to improve the situation. The belief is that the loss of range of motion and the resulting pain is caused by bones that […]
Continue readingWhen you have shoulder pain, often doctors will have you get an MRI. They want to see if a labral tear is the cause of your problems. If you’ve been told you have a labral tear and that it is the cause of your shoulder pain and movement issues, there’s something you need to know. Labral tears are […]
Continue readingI know how frustrating shoulder issues can be. And I know sometimes out of frustration people make bad choices. I know because I’ve made terrible choices with my shoulders, and I want to share the WORST mistake I ever made with my shoulder. If you’d like to watch the video version of this blog post, […]
Continue readingAs a corrective exercise trainer and an orthopedic massage therapist, I talk with a lot of people with chronic pain. People often ask me if I think there’s ever a good time to get surgery. Sometimes it’s about back pain. Sometimes it’s knee pain. Could be hip pain, wrist pain, shoulder pain, etc. Whatever it […]
Continue readingWhy think about special tests for the shoulder?When people are told they have shoulder impingement, there are a number of physical maneuvers or “special tests” that doctors will use to investigate their problem. These special tests are supposed to provide useful information that tells you whether you have true “impingement.” These special tests, however, are extremely […]
Continue readingIf you’ve been diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS), and someone has suggested surgery to you, you may be a bit scared. You may be anxious about the prospect of surgery, and you also may be excited that something might be able to help you after so much suffering. The numbness, coldness, and tingling in your arms […]
Continue readingIf you have shoulder pain, you may be seriously considering surgery to correct your problem. And you’re probably asking yourself, does shoulder surgery work? You may have been told that surgery is your best option – or possibly even your only option. While there are certainly people who do end up getting satisfactory results, it’s important to know […]
Continue readingShoulder Impingement Syndrome: Is it a bone problem that needs a surgical solution? You head to the doctor because you keep having this nagging shoulder pain every time you move your arm. It hurts to scratch your back and grab plates out of the cabinet. It’s getting harder to wash your hair and put your shirt […]
Continue readingIf you have shoulder pain, you may have been told that you have an issue that’s caused by something you can see in an X-ray or MRI. Maybe it’s a labral tear. Or a rotator cuff tear. Maybe someone says your acromion process or your clavicle is too long. You may have been told surgery […]
Continue readingYou’ve been told you have a rotator cuff tear, and you are scared that your shoulder is going to hurt forever. You’re afraid you’ve done damage that you’re never going to come back from. Maybe you’re wondering if there’s a way you can avoid getting surgery? Let’s look at the ins and outs of rotator cuff […]
Continue readingMaybe you’ve been told you have Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS). Maybe you’ve got numb, cold, tingling hands, and you can’t seem to find a way to make it all go away. Surgery may have been presented as an option to you. In this post, we’re going to dive deep into the research on the diagnosis of TOS and the real […]
Continue readingYou’ve got shoulder problems, and you want to improve your comfort levels – BUT you don’t want to lose the muscle you’ve built up over time. You want to look good AND feel good. This is quite the dilemma for some people.Do you want to keep doing those bicep curls?If you’re a body-builder, power lifter, […]
Continue readingI was working with a client the other day who has had years of issues with his shoulder. At seemingly random times, he has found it difficult to lift his arm out to the side. This is a pretty common issue – it might even sound like YOU. Every time I see this, I think back […]
Continue readingAnyone who knew me in the last two years of high school and the last two years of college knew that I had some issues with my hands, wrists, and – to a lesser extent – my elbows. Throughout the entire ordeal, I was told that I didn’t have carpal tunnel, and that all I had was […]
Continue readingWhenever we work with clients who have problems with their shoulders, there’s one motion that we ALWAYS try to improve right away. That movement is scapular retraction.What is scapular retraction?It’s pulling your shoulder blades (the scapulae) in towards each other/towards the spine – WITHOUT shrugging up toward your ears. The opposite of scapular retraction is scapular […]
Continue readingImagine this. You’ve had shoulder pain for years. Not just 1 month. Not just 1 year. You’ve had it for 15 years. Your doctor says it’s probably from some kind of nerve damage or your bones are growing improperly. You’ll need some kind of surgery or you’ll just have to learn to “live with it.” Pretty big […]
Continue readingIf you’ve ever had aches and pains in your neck and shoulders, you have probably been told that you need to get a massage. When that doesn’t seem to provide long-term relief for you or you get tired of constantly getting a massage, you may be referred to a specialist in myofascial release or a […]
Continue readingIn junior year of college at UCLA, I went snowboarding with a buddy in Big Bear. We both liked barreling down mountains as fast as possible, and he — being a little faster than I was — had a habit of making me go faster and take more risk than I normally would alone. And […]
Continue readingIf you’ve got shoulder pain this short routine may be helpful for you. It’s a pretty low-demand routine, so it won’t work for everyone, but it’s a good start for a lot of people. If any of these exacerbate your pain, then this is NOT for you. These should be pretty gentle exercises that give […]
Continue readingOne of the most common ailments for the modern worker is chronic tension in the back of the neck and down into the shoulders. I’ve worked with countless women who have told me “I keep my tension in my neck and shoulders.” If I had a nickel for every time I heard that statement, I’d […]
Continue readingIf you’ve ever complained that you don’t have time to do stretches or exercises while you’re traveling on business or with your family, this video now officially gives you no excuse for not stretching. Squeeze these four exercises in to keep yourself feeling mobile and fresh!
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