- All right, today we're gonna talk to you
about shoulder health,
particularly with people that are maybe over 50.
I know because I'm actually over 60 now.
And we're gonna show you three particular exercises
that are gonna help keep your shoulder
mobile, healthy, pain-free,
and it only takes two minutes.
- So if your shoulder is feeling tight,
and your job before is very physically demanding on it,
we're gonna show you three exercises
to help improve your posture,
get it unlocked and moving proper, and make you feel great.
(upbeat music)
- All right.
Now, with the shoulder, we have to keep in mind,
it is likely the most complicated joint in the body.
Remember, it goes out to the side,
up in front,
behind your back
behind your head,
across your chest,
all directions,
and you can actually swing it like this,
and it's just amazing.
Now, if you have tight muscles,
if the capsule of the joint gets tight,
or you have arthritis in that joint,
all three of those things can really raise havoc
on that shoulder and lock it up.
We need to unlock it, free that joint, and get you moving.
- So now we're gonna walk you through three exercises
you can do.
They're all gonna be done in a seated position,
and it'll only take a couple of minutes,
and the most important part about these exercises
is to get your scapula, or shoulder blade,
moving properly again.
- That's right.
So most people think of the ball-and-socket,
which is a very critical part of the shoulder to move,
but if the scapula is not moving freely across the ribcage,
there's gonna be big problems,
and the socket and the ball aspect of the joint
will not work.
So the scapula must float all the way up to here
to approximately 60 degrees.
You don't need to remember that,
but just remember,
free motion of the scapula is absolutely necessary,
as well as the ball-and-socket freedom
for a pain-free shoulder
that is gonna get you everything you want.
- How you might know if you have a tight shoulder complex
would be if you're trying to reach up into a tight cupboard,
and you can't get there, or are experiencing pain.
Another symptom would be
is if you're reaching back behind your head,
say you're fixing your hair,
or for females maybe putting on your bra,
that can be painful as well.
And also, if you're experiencing any type of headaches,
or tension on this side,
or maybe even referring pain down in your arm,
those are all problems,
saying that your shoulder complex
is not functioning properly,
and we need to get it moving correctly.
- You hit it right on the head, Mike.
Good work- - Thank you.
- Okay, exercise number one.
The goal for this exercise is to get your scapula,
your shoulder blade,
moving across that rib cage.
So just like we show it right here,
gonna take that away.
Mike, bring your arms out.
Now with your elbows locked and straight,
think about bringing your shoulders,
rounding your shoulders.
So now his shoulder blades,
my hand represents your shoulder blades,
are sliding forward.
Now, I want you to keep your elbows locked,
and bring your shoulders back.
And you can see my hands are much closer.
Actually, let's turn this way, Mike.
There we go.
Forward and back.
And I'm right on his shoulder blades.
Forward and back.
Now I'll show you how you can do this in a seated position.
Okay, now I wanna show you,
it's best probably to do this
in a seated position at a desk or a table.
You're gonna sit on a chair, good tall posture,
hands on the table, and straight elbows,
do not let them move,
and think about sliding your hands forward.
The only way you can get your hands to slide forward
is by those scapula, the shoulder blades,
sliding across the ribcage and forward.
And now I'm gonna go back.
So I'm actually doing
the exact same motion Mike was doing standing,
but we're using the table as a guide,
as well as holding the weight of the arms.
Allows scapula motion, and back,
and I'm really getting a lotta motion.
You will feel those shoulder blades moving,
and that's what you're looking for.
Motion of the shoulder blades equals motion
of the whole shoulder.
Okay, the second exercise,
we wanna unlock those shoulder blades
in the vertical up and down position.
So first thing you'll need to do,
and we're gonna do this in a seated or standing,
right now, standing as posture, good posture,
but make sure you're not all tight.
Good posture in a relaxed manner.
Nothing real tight here.
And we're gonna look at the shoulder blade.
Yep. Let's turn this way, Mark.
Okay, let's look at the shoulder blade.
Can you go up
and down.
So we're getting about inch and a half,
two inches of motion on there,
just by going up and down with those shoulders.
Again, relaxed breathing posture.
Now we're gonna show you too how to do it in a chair,
which is a little more convenient.
Okay, so exercise number two in a seated position.
First thing, as always, posture.
Get the shoulders back,
head up, everything in line, but relaxed.
Now simply elevate the shoulders up to the ears,
and then drop them down.
Now, and actually, the shoulder armrests may get in the way.
Scoot forward a little bit so they aren't.
So we have a good free motion.
Feel those shoulder blades sliding up and down
across those ribcage.
It's happening, whether you feel it or not,
you'll know it after you concentrate on it for a little bit.
Now, if you wanna, if you're a more able person, stronger,
and you have this motion down really well,
what you can do to add a little strengthening to this
is what we call, well,
we always used to call these wheelchair pushups,
or in a chair, arms here,
push yourself up, lock the elbows, and do this.
Now, this is gonna be, again,
for those more active people,
people who are the step up as far as strength,
to give you a little more challenge.
But always make sure you can do this without that option.
That's strictly an option.
Let's go on to number three.
- Exercise number three is a stretch for the lats,
or the latissimus dorsi muscle.
And if this muscle is tight,
it can actually pull your scapula down and depress it,
causing more pain,
and not allowing your shoulder to move properly.
So to stretch the lat,
we're gonna show you a version seated first,
which Brad is gonna demonstrate now.
So he's leaning forward,
he's gonna put pressure through the palm of his hands,
and he's gonna slowly bring his upper body back
as his hands don't move much.
This is gonna put a nice stretch on the latissimus dorsi,
getting that shoulder to function properly later on.
Do you have anything else to add about this, Brad?
- Nope.
Just keep those hands still,
and bring your, slide your butt back in the chair,
and I can feel that muscle stretch
and that scapula moving upward.
This is a real critical exercise,
probably the most critical exercise of the three.
Now, Mike is gonna show you how to do it
on your hands and knees, either in bed or on the floor.
- So this is another option for exercise number three.
It is gonna be the same stretch,
but in a different position.
So if that position worked for you
what Brad was just showing, stick to that.
If you wanna get a little more stretch,
and you're able to get on your hands and knees,
then this is the version you can try.
So I'm gonna get in a quadruped position,
meaning I'm on all four limbs here.
For me personally,
it's better if I bring my feet together
so I can sit back easier.
It's gonna depend on your specific anatomy,
what feels best for you there.
So I'm gonna-
- Mike, I just wanna interrupt.
You can do this on your bed, possibly, or on the floor,
and we're gonna first show it as if it's on a bed,
a softer surface.
- Yes.
So I'm gonna push down through my hands,
and I'm gonna slowly sit back towards my heels
with my buttock.
As I'm doing this, I'm pushing down through my hands.
You may not be able to get down to this full range of motion
and you can just do little rocking motions like this
to start feeling the stretch.
Once it becomes easier,
you can push down and try and hold this.
Is there a certain amount of time
they should do this for, Brad?
- Well, I wanna emphasize,
this shoulder blade is going forward,
stretching that latissimus dorsi muscle,
that big muscle here.
Feel the stretch.
I would hold it for five to 10 seconds to start with.
As you get used to it,
and you feel like you wanna get a more aggressive stretch,
15 seconds, maybe up to 30 if you can tolerate that.
And if you want,
if you have a tight shoulder, say on this side,
it feels tighter than on this side,
you're gonna take that arm and cross over to the other hand.
And Mike, you feel an intensity of that stretch right there?
- [Mike] Yes.
- There you go. That's the way to advance it.
Three to five times, probably, to start with.
As you do it more and more,
you'll feel if you wanna go more than that or not,
or just hold it longer.
- So if your bed is too soft,
and you wanna do this exercise on the floor,
a simple suggestion would be
to put a pillow underneath your knees to begin with,
and start there.
If say the top of your ankle is getting problematic,
you can also put a pillow there as well,
and take some pressure off of those joints.
The point of the stretch is to stretch the shoulder blade,
and get it back in its proper place.
So we're not too worried
about what your legs are doing here.
- We just want 'em to feel comfortable,
and enjoy, relax to stretch.
If you're in pain down in the ankles, things are not fun,
you do not relax so well.
So, Mike, I have to say, you're doing a outstanding job.
- Well, thanks.
- I do wanna say, overall,
do all these exercise, three to five repetitions.
There's no repetition set in stone.
Do 'em as comfort.
Start out with less, less time, and less repetition.
As you do 'em more,
you'll get a feel for how long you need to do that.
We're not gonna spend five or 10 minutes,
again, two minutes is on the title.
That's what it will condense down to,
once you do 'em, oh, five or 10 times.
- It's important to start slow with these exercises.
You don't wanna do too much too soon,
and be overly aggressive.
So start gentle with each stretch.
Maybe only do one or two a day, and build up over time.
- That's right.
So, again, consistency,
and we all know things don't happen magically.
You may find a great benefit in that first day or two,
but you wanna continue with it,
even if you do or you don't, after a week or so,
you're gonna start to notice,
"Ah, I can reach into that cupboard higher.
I can comb my hair without that pain and tightness."
Things happen over time.
Continue, continue,
and you will find the results very helpful.
I feel better already, don't you?
- Yes. - Yeah.
Okay.
So you're gonna have good results
with these exercises, I'm sure.
Again, do 'em throughout today.
Unlock those shoulder blades,
get some mobility going,
and be happy.
- Let us know in the comments section
what worked for you in this video.
Also, check out the other comments,
and let us know what we forgot,
because there are many ways
to get your shoulders functioning well again.
If you would like to find more videos on this,
pinned to the top of the comments section
we'll link five more videos relating to shoulder pain,
and maybe if this video didn't work,
some of the tips and tricks from that one
might work for you.
- We're gonna do that?
- We always do it-
- Really? - We've been doing it.
- Excellent.
I haven't watched the whole video myself, but...
Just kidding.
Yeah, it's very helpful.
Quick reference.
All right, I'm done.
I've gotta take a break.
- Goodbye.
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