Fixing Shoulder Impingement and Its Attendant Pain Means Taking a Closer Look at Your Functional Movement—Not that Your Bones Are Built Badly

Table of Contents

• A Quick Overview of Shoulder Impingement
• How Acromion Types Are—or Are Not—Related to Shoulder Impingement
• Does Shoulder Impingement Surgery Work?
• How Can You Fix Shoulder Impingement without Surgery?

A Quick Overview of Shoulder Impingement 

Surgeons often claim that shoulder impingement syndrome (also known as subacromial impingement) is the result of bad bone shapes. This theory was first introduced in 1972 [overview by the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery available here] by surgeon Charles S. Neer II. He had dissected cadavers for evidence of...

The most common myth about shoulder X-rays for shoulder pain

The vast majority of people believe that shoulder X-rays are a good way to determine what's causing shoulder pain.

Stress, among other things, can make your shoulder muscles quite cranky.

Many doctors also say that an X-ray is a good way to investigate shoulder pain. They might find things like medial acromial and lateral clavicular sclerosis, subchondral acromial cysts, inferior acromial and clavicular osteophytes, and degeneration of the acromioclavicular joint...

Those all sound terrible, don't they?

If you saw any of those things in a shoulder X-ray, you'd think those were the obvious cause of your pain. You'd also probably think that treating...

Whenever we work with clients who have problems with their shoulders, there's one motion that we ALWAYS try to improve right away - scapular retraction. If you have shoulder issues it can often be helped with simple exercises that emphasize alignment and retraining.

In this blog we are looking at a few exercises to help restore proper alignment and strength in the correct muscles to support shoulder health.

What is scapular retraction?

Scapular retraction involves pulling your shoulder blades (the scapulae) in towards each other/towards the spine - WITHOUT shrugging up toward your ears.

The opposite of scapular retraction is scapular protraction. In protraction your shoulder blades move away from one another and your arms...

In this article, we're going to look at the statistics and studies on shoulder labral tear surgery to help you discern the risks involved. To learn all about shoulder labral tears check out part 1 of this blog series for more background information.

If you have shoulder pain and someone has told you that it’s coming from a labral tear, you may feel like your only option is surgery. After all, if something in your shoulder is torn, how could you possibly be able to do anything to fix it besides having surgery? You can’t possibly go in yourself to fix that tear!

What are the odds of shoulder labrum surgery success? 

While surgeons may suggest that shoulder surgery is often extremely successful, it’s important to...

 _{Learn more about how functional training can protect your shoulders.}

If you’re experiencing shoulder pain, you may be wondering if you have a torn shoulder labrum. Read on for the science behind labral tear detection and diagnosis, and why functional training should be your first choice for managing pain and building the strength you need to maintain shoulder stability.

Table of Contents

What are Shoulder Labral Tears?

How Do You Know If You Have a Labral Tear?

The Reliability of MRI, MRA, and CT Scans for Diagnosing Labral Tears

• MRI and MRA
• CT Scans

The Reliability of Physical Tests for Diagnosing Labral Tears

The Reliability of Anesthetic Injections for Diagnosing Labral Tears

Joint Popping, Snapping,...

Often when people first start to experiment with wide pushups, they experience one of two things: either they have shoulder pain, or someone tells them that they should stop doing wide push ups because they’ll end up injured.

Does this mean wide push ups bad for you? 

No. Wide pushups are not bad for you when done correctly. The discomfort you may feel doesn’t mean wide grip pushups are unsafe. Wide grip push-ups can actually be GOOD for you if you do them correctly. Just like lifting heavy objects is not inherently bad for you, and in fact, can be beneficial and good for you when proper form is in place.

How do you do wide push ups properly?

Controlling your shoulder blades can help your shoulders move effectively and...

These days, a lot of us travel for work. Business consultants, software engineers, and even trainers like me find ourselves working in coffee shops, restaurants, and hotel rooms on our laptops. So when you’re on the go, how can you make your workstation as ergonomic as possible? In this article, we’ll talk about 3 quick tips to help you create an ergonomic workstation while traveling.

If you’d like a video walkthrough of what I use to create an ergonomic workstation when I’m traveling, check out this video. 

Ergonomic workstation tip #1: Use a separate mouse

I pack a wired Sharkk mouse to keep my hand,     
wrist, and shoulder happy.

Using the trackpad on a laptop keyboard forces...

If you’ve ever had aches and pains in your neck and shoulders, you have probably been told that you need to get a massage. When that doesn’t seem to provide long-term relief for you or you get tired of constantly getting a massage, you may be referred to some kind of specialist in myofascial release to get really “deep” massage work. But is this always the answer? Is more pressure or more bodywork always the answer to chronic pain?

[This article was written when I was still doing massage and bodywork as a Rolfer. I no longer do that kind of work and focus on showing people how proper exercise can solve their aches and pains without needing constant massage sessions. You can read more about how to fix tense...