How To Deal With Shoulder Impingements

Ever get that annoying pain in the front of the shoulder that you can pinpoint with your finger? No matter what you do, it always hurts in the same spot during certain movements.

You are most likely dealing with a shoulder impingement and it's quite common for active adults. So what can we do about it? 

Image Source

When an area gets impinged, most often the joint space is compressed and tissues get squeezed. In the case of the shoulder, the bicep tendon is most commonly pinched and is what causes that pinpoint pressure you feel in the front of the shoulder.

You can think of the joint space as a tube of toothpaste. If you squeeze the middle, that area is compressed and the toothpaste goes out the top and pushed to the bottom. The same thing happens when a joint gets compressed. You are essentially squeezing everything out of the area with little space to move, hence the pinching on certain muscles and tendons. 

The solution in this case is to not press on the area and squeeze it more. We need to squeeze from the bottom up to expand the area, just like when you need to get more toothpaste out, you squeeze the bottom to the top. In the case of the shoulder, we may need to do things that open up the area that's squeezed and slightly squeeze the areas below (via positions) that will push up the shoulder. 

For example, if you have the pinching right in the front of the shoulder, then you want to expand that area and use joint positions that will force you to squeeze from the bottom up. One potential way of doing this would be with a KB suitcase carry as the weight will hang and the hand will grip (squeezing from the bottom) and force the shoulder to open up as you walk. 

​

Give this a try so you can start to open up the space in your shoulders to reduce the impingements.
​
If you have a more specific problem or need help with improving your shoulder health, send us an email at staff@dynamicppri.com or shoot us a text at 401-702-0293
​