If you are sat at a desk for a long time, you may find these shoulders can get a little bit stiff and tight
so knowing how to release the shoulders with the Pocket Physio is really useful.
You can do these exercises before you sit down or during the day for a little bit of a break or even at the end of the day.
Now, we do have a video we've also created using the Pocket Physio to work on the neck.
Neck and shoulders are very much linked so it might be an idea just to go over
and have a look at those exercises as well
because then you can do your neck and your shoulder at the same time.
My name's Claire. I'm a Physiotherapist from Physiofit Health.
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So, the Pocket Physio if you don't know what it is, watch our video we've created just explaining a little bit about it.
The first exercise, we'll go through with the Pocket Physio on the shoulder.
You are going to need the flat end of the Pocket Physio and the pointy end to work into the muscle,
so this pointy end is very similar to an elbow, quite good at really pinpointing
the areas that need to be worked on.
So, you're going to take the flat part and place it on the wall
so it's nice and anchored and then you are going to get your shoulder
and you're going to squash the Pocket Physio against the wall.
So, the area I'm working is directly behind the shoulder
so it's roughly over the shoulder blade. You don't want it too high, don't really want it too low.
Having said all that, you might need to just move it around a little bit just to see where's tight for you.
It's just always dependent on what you're feeling.
So, you're going to squash Pocket Physio against the wall.
This first one, really straightforward, you're just going to put the pressure on and you're just going to hold it there.
Now, when you do these sustained pressure points, you can use your breathing if you want to.
It is the breathe out that taps into the relaxation of the body so hold the Pocket Physio there.
Take a really nice, big deep breath in, and breathing out you can just relax into that pressure that you're feeling.
Now, I'd suggest with the breathing 5 or 6 nice, big deep breaths
and then you can go back to your normal breathing.
And maybe trying 2 or 3 cycles of that in that same place or you can move that pressure
around a little bit, just finding the tight spots for you.
The second exercise that you can use for the shoulder and the Pocket Physio,
again, you want to find that spot that we spoke about in your first exercise
so you want to find a place just behind the shoulder.
Place that flat part against the wall.
You've got that pointy elbow end and you are going to find where feels tight
in that shoulder and just check it's all good.
You're just going to hold it there.
Now, this time we want to get a little bit of movement with the shoulder
so you're going to have your elbow close into your body.
Bend your elbow 90 degrees, keeping the elbow close to the body.
You're going to sweep your arm out to the side and then you're going to bring the arm across the midline of the body.
So, that's your movement. The elbow stays the same, it's just the movement of that forearm and hand.
This gets just a little bit of rotation at the shoulder and the pressure with the Pocket Physio
just helps release the muscle in that area.
If you do this and you find you're not really feeling anything,
just move the pressure point somewhere else and then you can try in that different position.
So, ultimately it's just figuring out where it's tight for you and where you need to be working.
So, your third exercise with the Pocket Physio, again you need your flat part and that pointy elbow end.
You want to place this one in between the spine and the shoulder blade.
So, you've got a spine running down, obviously the center of the back
and then you've got your shoulder blade which sits just behind the shoulder.
So, you just want that place in between those two if possible.
Don't overly worry too much if you don't think you can find it but that's really where you're aiming.
So you are going to place the Pocket Physio against the wall
and so you've got that pointy elbow end that is finding a nice tense part in that area,
between the spine and the shoulder blade.
Now, this one you're going to start with the arm straight and by the side of the body
and you are slowly going to sweep that arm all the way up.
So you're drawing a semi-circle with it and then you're going to bring that arm all the way back down.
So, that's your pressure point and your movement, again if you're not really feeling the tension,
it feels like it's not really doing anything, just change where the Pocket Physio is.
You might find that there are certain points within that movement where you do feel just a little bit tighter
in which case you can just work within that range,
so just a small range with the arm or you can do your full range.
Now, I would suggest just 5 or 6 repetitions is pretty good
and then you're obviously going to repeat on the other side if you've released one side.
So those are your three Pocket Physio exercises for your shoulder.
Like I said, we've also done a video just showing you how to use it on your neck.
Neck and shoulders are very much linked so perhaps think about doing both.
It doesn't take too long to do at the beginning of the day, end of the day, or if you just fancy a little bit of break.
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