Shoulder pain is a major complaint in many people, not just athletes, and to successfully correct the problem one must look far beyond the shoulder itself. In this video I discuss the majority of the muscles that make up the shoulder joint and their relationship to common injuries that occur in the shoulder girdle area.
Common injuries to the rotator cuff are described in detail, as well as how to assess each muscle and perform basic trigger point therapies. Frozen shoulder problems are also discussed in this video, as many people suffer from this common injury in which the shoulder cannot freely move in the manner in which it is designed.
At the end of this video I demonstrate two easy rehabilitation exercises you can do to help regain the strength and mobility back in your shoulder!
Please check out the Trigger Point Therapy article and video if you need more information regarding this subject.
Also please read the Sock Doc First Aid For Injuries series to understand why it is often disadvantageous to ice, heat, stretch, or take NSAIDs for this, or any, injury.
Great article Doc!! It seems that everybody has a shoulder problem, so its good to get that trigger point info along with the exercises.
I’m going to throw this out there that Dr Gangemi is a badass! That hanging shoulder exercise is crazy hard and he made it look so easy in the video. I’m sticking to my crawling and climbing for shoulder excercise for now.
Good video Doc
Thanks Greg. Yeah, that one takes practice.
I have deltoid pain when I use my shoulders, in both L and R delts. I’ve tried EVERYTHING and it persists. Prolotherapy, hanging, OT, nothing works. It looks like in that last segment you started to touch on it. Where my delts insert, it is VERY tender on both sides. I just don’t know how to fix it.
Could it be refered pain from bilateral bone spurs?
Hi Dave. Can’t show everything on the videos due to length and there is just so much that can go wrong. There has to be some muscle imbalance in the area. Bone spurs are most likely there because of the shoulder ROM problems. Sometimes the delts lock up because of diaphragm (breathing) problems.
As I often say to people – “Sometimes you just gotta be treated by a doc or therapist who looks at the entire body from a structural, nutritional, and emotional perspective and understands how everything is interrelated and attributing to a health issue or injury.” Although there’s not a lot of “us” out there, that’s your best bet. A good doc will be able to get you back in a very short period of time and if not, at least explain why it may take longer.
hey doc I was dianosed with biceps tendonitis of the long head in my left shoulder. I have been resting completely for a month now. The tendonitis seems to have gotten better, but about 2 weeks into my rest I began to feel light aches and pain in my right shoulder (healthy one). Sometimes its in the anterior deltoid, but sometimes it can travel to the medial deltoid or on in other locations of the shoulder. NOW, I have anterior deltoid aches in the anterior deltoids of both shoulders. Do you think this could be from lack of use and possible tightness?
Any help would be great
Doubt it is from lack of use. Most likely some other imbalance that hasn’t been recognized yet. First place I’d look is in the rhomboids and lats as I show in the video.