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Simple Exercise to Increase Shoulder Flexibility

This video demonstrates how to increase shoulder flexibility using a simple exercise that anyone can do at home.

As we age, we tend to lose flexibility.  This is due mostly to inactivity.  The less you use your range of motion, the smaller your available movements become because these new, limited patterns become ingrained in your nervous system and it “forgets” how to move like it used to.

Additionally, fascia develops a “fuzz” like substance between sheets of tissue when muscles are inactive. This “fuzz” acts like Velcro, making sheets of tissue that used to be slippery stick together.  A lot of people who think they have tight hamstrings, for example, actually have hamstrings that have become “stuck” to their adductors, thus limiting the range of motion of the hamstring muscles.

The more you expand your range of motion, the better your posture will be and the greater your flexibility as you age.  If you sit in front of a computer or drive for any length of time, this shoulder flexibility exercise is particularly important.  It’s also useful for yogis who want to open their chests and shoulder girdles and dancers and athletes who need greater range of motion.

Do this daily for optimal results.  You will see improvements if you do this at least three times a week.  Using a dowel is better than using a rope or yoga strap because it forces you to move the shoulder joint and not cheat, so you’ll get the full effects.  However, if you don’t have a broom or long pole handy, a yoga strap, jump rope, belt or Thera-Band can work as well.

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109 Hunched Shoulders

Why Does My Shoulder Clunk?

Are you wondering: why does my shoulder clunk?

Clicking, popping and other joint noises can be alarming. They are rarely a cause for concern, however.

Read on to learn more about shoulder clunking and whether you should be worried about your joint.

Related:

Shoulder Clunking: What Are The Causes?

Does your shoulder make a clunking noise when you move your arm?

The most common cause of a shoulder clunk is lack of space in the joint. You may also have tight shoulder muscles that restrict the movement of your scapula, or shoulder blade.

Shoulder joints are designed for mobility. Your shoulder is a shallow ball and socket joint, similar to your hip. However, your shoulder is much less deep, allowing for tremendous range of motion.

Unfortunately, when shoulder muscles get tight, they can cause clunking, clicking, popping or grinding noises as they move across bony surfaces.

Tight shoulder muscles can also slightly displace the humerus (arm bone) in the shoulder joint, causing clicking and popping. This can also happen when shoulders are weak and lacking integrity, which allows the bone to move around too much in the socket.

How To Fix A Shoulder Clunk

Using the wrong muscles to move your arms and shoulders will cause neck and upper shoulder tension, limiting mobility.

In the past, the majority of the population was engaged in some sort of manual labor. This strengthened the larger muscles of the back and lower scapula.

Your shoulder girdle (the bony structures that make up your shoulder and joint) needs muscular support because it only has one point of bony connection to the rest of your body: your clavicle, or collar bone.

These days, most people spend multiple hours in front of a computer, in cars, watching television, and utilizing fine motor skills to operate cell phones and other hand held devices.

The larger, strength-based muscles of your back and rib cage weaken with this type of lifestyle. Then you’re forced to rely on smaller, less efficient muscles in your neck and upper shoulder. These muscles are designed for fine motor skills — not heavy lifting.

To fix this problem, you’ve got to retrain your body to use its powerful shoulder and back muscles again.

The Bottom Line

To get relief for a clunking shoulder, you have to do two things…

First, you have to create space for the scapula to move.

Second, you have to retrain your body to support the shoulder using the large, postural muscles of the ribs and back.

Pain Free At Any Age

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