Let's start at the top!!

Let’s start at the top!

If you read my first article you already know I am here to help you break down your fitness journey into goals and focuses that are effective, easier to achieve and that don’t require any fancy equipment!

If you are new to exercise, didn’t quit get around to a fitness resolution in January then fear not this could be a great place to start. There is no ‘one size fits all’ beginning to exercise but by starting at the top, literally, and working down we have a good direction to follow!

Our physical skeleton is constructed of a number of key joints to allow every movement, action and tasks that we do, our shoulder joints for example are involved in absolutely everything that our hands and arms do, our arms wouldn’t be attached to our body if it weren’t for the shoulder joint, how would we make a fresh brew on Sunday morning, reply to that work email, hug a loved one if one of our shoulders and potentially arm, didn’t work.  The muscles in and around our shoulders are connected to our neck vertebrae, they are anchored to our rib cage front and back, to our scapula (shoulder blade), they are the starting point of the biceps and triceps that move the arms, so those shoulders need to be shown respect! This joint is classically a ball and socket joint with a huge potential range of movement, to be able to use its full potential though, the muscles of the front, back, top, inside and outside of the joint needs to work in harmony. In our daily lives rarely do we use all angles of that range, we do lots if not most things in front of us, sometimes reaching above us, but rarely things behind us. The front muscles of the shoulder therefore  are often more dominant, they get stronger, get good at doing things, but at the same time get tighter, more warn out and the back of that joint gets weaker, ‘forgets how to function’, creating an ‘imbalance’.

Prolonged use of an imbalanced shoulder can result in unexpected pain or even injury and commonly it isn’t until that pain gets so bad that we can’t function, do we do anything about it. Very often I see people with shoulder, neck and upper back pain due to a simple imbalance or over use of one part of the shoulder structure, but also people often can’t remember when it actually started. If you are reading this and it sounds familiar, you might have a small niggle or something more but it has been on and off for weeks or months then a) give these suggested exercises a go once a day, they should take approx 2 minutes each or b) if you are struggling with long term pain that you just can’t shift then contact our physiotherapist Ellie, because you could make things worse by doing nothing.

First of all, try some snow angels to get your shoulders to move in their fullest range:

Standing with your back against a wall, arms down by your side, trying to keep your arms as close to the wall as possible reach your arms out to the side and continue to move them upwards til they are over your head. If the front of your shoulder, where you pectoral muscle is, is tight then your arms will probably come away from the wall pretty soon. Use that as a start point for how tight you are and with the exercises below, your range should improve. Do this 10 times slowly, it can get easier as the muscles warm up.

Practise ‘thread the needle stretches’ to combine a shoulder stretch with an upper spine twist:

On your hands and knees, extend one arm out to the side, look at the hand throughout, continue to reach that hand up to ceiling until most of your torso is also twisted upwards, keep the hand and arm on the floor straight to support you. Return the arm back to the floor but continue to ‘thread’ it through the space under your body until you are twisted down almost to the floor. Do this 10x per arm.

Practise working the rear shoulder muscles with a back extension and rear fly:

Lay on your front, arms down by your sides, palms face down. On your in breath lift your, head, shoulders and chest from the floor whilst trying pinching your shoulder blades together. On your out breath lower to floor. During the lift, do not strain the neck to lift your head, you want to imagine you are looking in a mirror under your face at all times. Do this 10x slowly.

If you are in need of some help with your upper body posture or would like any other help with exercise and fitness, at Hummingbird we can help with 1:1s or small group Pilates and yoga classes. You can view our full list of classes and workshops online   www.hummingbirdpilates.co.uk, or email us at [email protected] or call us 01245 422556.