This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in September of 2023. For the original video go to https://youtu.be/1lXMGEUUqRo
Mike: Bob would occasionally have shoulder pain until he discovered the number one way to treat this issue. Now, in the past, he used the McKenzie Method, and Mulligan, but things weren't working long-term until he discovered a different therapist.
Brad: Right, so what happened was Bob was doing some research, reading some books by Rick Olderman, a veteran physical therapist who has a whole technique that he has developed. Now, to make a long story short, he found out that his shoulder blade was actually the problem, not his shoulder joint. So what he did is continued to research Rick's new technique, and he came up with the solution.
Mike: So now we're going to go through great detail of what exercises Bob did to get his shoulder blade back in place, and fix his issues.
Brad: And the great thing about it is the exercises are not that complicated, and that's the beauty of this whole program. All right, so before we show you the exercises, the whole idea is that here's the shoulder blade. Now what happened is Bob's shoulder blade was depressed, not emotionally, but physically, it actually was down a little bit. It doesn't take a lot to stretch the muscles here and create that pain all in this area and it can radiate down to the shoulder. So let's start with the first exercise to stretch and get the muscles to release to start getting it elevated.
Mike: Okay, the first exercise in Rick's book is called All-Fours Rocking. It also kind of looks like a prayer stretch. So in order to do this, you need to be on your hands and knees. Brad will show a version seated if you're unable to get in this position. So what I'm going to do is sit my butt towards my heels while keeping my hands pushing down into the mat. You can also do this on the floor. And what I'm going to do is sit here for three to five breaths and relax, and then I'm going to return to the starting position. You're going to rock back into this seated position three to five times. Make sure to keep your hands in place, and this'll help stretch out that scapula.
Brad: Right. Now you may wonder, why is this actually working the shoulder? And again, come back up, Mike. The shoulder blade, I'm going to show an outline of where it is. Right there where my hand is. Now go ahead. Now what's going on is the shoulder blade is rotating and coming up in the direction that we want it to move. Hold it, stretch out those tight muscles that are pulling it down, and that's the first step, is allow it to get up where it needs by releasing the tight muscles, and it's going to work.
Mike: Now, if one side is specifically tighter than the other, you can also take the tight side, cross over a little more like this, and then reach down. I'm feeling way more stretch now on my left side doing it this way.
Brad: I do want to add that this can be done on a bed if it's not too soft. Probably best on a carpeted floor and a firm surface. We're doing it here because it's better for videoing, but if this doesn't work for you, or going on all fours, hands and knees, is uncomfortable, simply sit at a table here. Now if you have a chair with wheels on it, it works really well. I'll show you both options here, and if you have a chair with wheels, the hands are like they're glued to the table, and you roll the chair back, and we get the same stretch that I mentioned with Mike. Again, hold for three to five breaths, and come back up. Repeat that three times.
Brad: If you have a chair that doesn't have the wheels, which will be very common, then take a towel, and put it on a smooth tabletop or a cupboard. Then we just slide forward. If you don't have the towel on there, the hands may stick. It makes it much nicer to have a slippery, easy surface to move, stretch, again, three to five breaths, come back up. Do that three to five times. How many times per day, Mike?
Mike: Do it one time a day, and see how it helps your shoulder out.
Brad: That's right. I think we could actually go up to two or three times a day after a while. Isn't that right, Bob? Twice. Bob concurs with twice. Okay, a brief explanation of why we do this exercise. The previous exercise stretches out the muscles down here that are pulling the scapula down. Now those are stretched, we need to complement by strengthening the muscles up by the neck, which will pull the scapular up. So we do the arm slides going up the wall. Mike, can you explain this in detail? And that's how that scapular motion is working.
Mike: So to begin, you're going to need your hands touching the wall. My pinkies and my elbows are up against the wall the entire time. I'm going to start sliding my arms up the wall. When I get to this point, I'm going to think about my scapula's turning out, helping lift my arm up. Once I'm up overhead, I'm going to try to hold it for three breaths, and then I'm going to come back down. You're going to perform five to 10 repetitions of this with a heavy emphasis on making sure that scapula is lifting once you get up overhead. You should feel that, where Brad is pointing to on my shoulder blade there. That is what you should feel activating when you're lifting this up. If you can't go all the way up, that's fine. Just go to what you can tolerate, and try to hold it there for three breaths, and then come back down.
Brad: One thing I think about is when I get to that point, I just think about bringing my shoulders to my ears, and that way you know the right muscles are contracting and pulling that scapula up. How much pressure are you putting on the wall, Mike?
Mike: I'm not pushing too hard. I'm not forcing into it, but I am keeping contact the entire time. If you have too much contact, it's going to be harder to slide your arms, also.
Brad: Right, yup. So don't lean into the wall through the arms. Just gentle.
Mike: And make sure to go down slow and controlled with pressure as well. You will feel it going that way, too.
Brad: All right, the third stretch. You're going to lie on the floor. It's going to address the muscles in the front, the chest muscles. And it's going to stretch those out as well as allow the scapulars to move up. Mike will show it in detail.
Mike: So begin in a hook line position. So my knees are bent. This allows my back to be flat on the floor here. I'm going to have my thumbs pointed up towards my head, and then it's like you're making a snow angel if you're in a region of the world that has snow, you know what we mean by this. So you're going to bring your arms up overhead, keeping your elbows and shoulders straight as long as you can. You can either hold it here for 30 seconds, or you can just kind of do repetitions slow and controlled. Try to keep your hands in contact with the floor as much as you can.
Mike: Some people, if they were tight, like my right arm here, I'm exaggerating, but it might start coming off the ground. This is okay to begin with. Over time, try to keep your arm flat and touching the ground. Now you will see with me, as I get up shoulder height and higher, I struggle to keep my whole arm on the ground, and my elbows start to pop off, so I'm a little tight, and this is the area I really need to focus on.
Brad: Think about your breathing, relax. You can see Mike's face is turning red because he's trying to talk while doing this exercise, but yeah, these are good points, Mike. My shoulder is tight, and I cannot keep my arms, hands, to the floor all the way up, but I'm working on it, and it's improving. Okay, the fourth stretch is stretching above your head in a door. Mike is holding onto the frame of the trim of the door and putting body weight in. Here, let's get over here so they can see it. And we're stretching muscles here, and here again to help that scapular release and move upward back where it belongs. Mike, can you tell them a little more about it?
Mike: So you need to go up to a doorway, doorframe. You can also do this on a pull-up bar, or anything you can get your fingers on that is above your head. You're going to have to have the door open. Notice my palm is facing away from me. Once I'm straight up, I'm going to lean towards that side, so this is going to apply a stretching force to the shoulder. I'm going to sit here for three to five breaths, and then relax, and you're going to try to do 10 repetitions if possible. Now if this is problematic for you, you can't reach up this high, we'll show you an alternative version using a stick here in a moment.
Brad: Right, and a key thing, and if for some reason this gives you pain or sharp pain, then you need to not do it, or do it in a way that's easier, like I'll show in a second.
Mike: Now, a simple way to add more of a pulling force, if you can tolerate it, is to simply squat your legs down more. This will apply more stretching to the shoulder area.
Brad: Okay now, if using the door trim like Mike demonstrated is too aggressive or too high, you simply take a stick. You can use a broom handle, a piece of PVC plastic pipe, Booyah Stik. Then the important thing is you're going to go up to a countertop, or if you're doing it seated on the chair, the stick must not be slippery, or it must be very stable on the bottom. So if it slips, you can simply take a shoe, put it inside the shoe, and that allows it to grip so it's steady. Very important. Then you bring your hand up as far as you feel comfortable, palm is away so you can see the back of your hand. Grab the stick, and then lean into it. If you're standing, I can simply bend my knees and gently get the stretch until you feel a comfortable stretch. Again, no sharp pain or it's too aggressive. Come back up, and do that. Three breaths. You can do a stretch where you go on and off, pressure on, pressure off. Mike, any additions if you do in the seated position?
Mike: Just make sure it's nice and tight next to you. You can do this in a chair, as well. You don't have to be sitting on something tall like this. And I just lean over to feel more of a stretch with this version. Obviously the higher up you can go, the more stretch you will feel. If you're only up a short way, that's fine. You could probably just lean a little more sideways, and it'll naturally help your scapula lift up like it should.
Brad: Right. Again, the idea is not to get overly aggressive. Take your time with it to start with. Gradually work into it. All right, now this fifth exercise is actually for your posture. Many people slump without even realizing it, which affects the mechanics of the shoulder, as well as your breathing. So in a seated position, put your legs in a 90-90 position like I have here, not tucked under the chair, or out in front. And then the right hand, will go on the sternum right here. The other hand on your abdomen. Now those are just so you can feel your posture get better. Think about the top hand as going up towards the ceiling at an angle, and then your hand on your stomach, you're going to feel those muscles actually tighten up. Let your arms be relaxed. Let gravity take them where they want to go.
Brad: So in other words, we're not going over extend. It's simply up with this chest, feel the stomach muscles tighten in, and let the arms relax. The elbows will actually fall straight down like a plumb bob, if you will, and you have good natural posture. Okay, so Mike, any additions?
Mike: Once you get in this posture, you can release your hands, just focus on it. If you notice over time, you're starting to round forward again, just simply use your hands again, get into that posture, and relax. Most people, when they think about good posture, they immediately squeeze their shoulder blades back. That's going to be a lot of work. Your shoulders are going to get very tired doing that. It's not that, it's just simply elevating your ribs. Chest towards the ceiling like this, and now I have good posture. Much easier to maintain.
Brad: And this one, you can do throughout today. You don't have to do 10, 15 repetitions. Better to do two or three, and do it 10 times a day, and really get that so it's a natural thing, you don't have to think about it after a while. All right, last but not least, and Bob said this is his number one pain relief postural position thing. Very simple to do. In a chair, the weight of your arm is pulling your shoulder down which can create pain after a while. The idea is to elevate that arm approximately one inch, and that's going to put it in the right position, take the stress off, and the pain drops significantly. Bob, you agree? And that's exactly what Bob experienced. So, if you have a chair that the armrest does not work because it's too low and it's uncomfortable, take a pillow that you sleep with, fold it in half, and then you squeeze it in there. Then you have a nice, soft, cushy arm rest that's comfortable, it's soft, and it elevates the shoulder appropriately. Even with a healthy shoulder, it feels much better than just hanging there. Okay, now. Carry on, Mike.
Mike: Well, I should say, if you're in Brad's circumstance in a recliner, that also works as well. Just put a pillow underneath your arm like that.
Brad: Good point.
Mike: Now, if you happen to have a computer chair, and you're having trouble at your computer station, and your arm rests are too low, and you have adjustable ones, simply elevate them a lot higher than you normally do. Also, if they can angle in, that will help. If they don't, you can also put a pillow in there to help get a nice angle in position. So if you look at how low this is here, how depressed, it's putting a lot of extra strain on my shoulder muscles up here.
Mike: Simply elevating that takes that pressure off there. It feels a lot better, especially if you're sitting for eight hours a day. Now for Bob, he is a very tall man, some even say a giant, and his chair- wouldn't go up high enough for his height. His arm rests were kind of stuck at a certain position. So if this was too low, Bob simply took a pillow and put it in here, but later on he took some type of foam pad, put it on the arm rest. That was the perfect height. Perfect height for him. And he taped it on there, and he has an ugly looking chair, but it works for him.
Brad: He taped his arm to the arm rest?
Mike: No, he taped his foam to the arm rest. Otherwise he'd be walking around with a chair on his butt all day. So after six months of dealing with shoulder pain, and even neck pain, for Bob, he started doing all these exercises and within two weeks, his pain started going away. He still practices many of these exercises daily, because he enjoys them and feels like they work, but you can pick which ones work for you in the longterm, and just stick with those.
Brad: Actually, he said in two weeks, his pain was gone.
Mike: Gone. Disappeared.
Brad: He did say, and Bob, correct me if I'm wrong, the best exercise, or posture change, was the pillow or the pad under the painful side, as well as sliding the pinky up the wall, elevating that, and strengthening to get that scapula in the right position. Worked well for him, so we wanted to share it with you, and hopefully, you'll have the same success.
Mike: If you want to check out more videos about shoulder pain, you can watch "Fix Posture & Shoulder Pain With 3 Exercises (All Ages)."
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