Shoulder instability can be painful but can be treated

4/27/18
Blog Dr. Keith Feder/Dr. Carol Frey

Todays Topic: Shoulders. How to recognize shoulder instability and how to treat it #strength #jointcapsule #shoulderpain #instability #rotatorcuff #ligaments #tendons #muscles #labrum

Shoulder painful skeleton x-ray, 3D illustration.

Shoulder injuries can be tricky. The reason being: Muscles, ligaments, joint capsule, labrum, and tendons all surround the shoulder. In a way they work together in a concert of actions, and they all contribute to function, motion and stability #shoulderpain #baseball #health.

Think fastball pitcher #baseball or spiking the volleyball #manhattanbeach. And because of all these movements in all directions, the shoulder can be injured in many different ways. What are the most common schoulder injuries, you might ask:

The rotator cuff, shoulder joint capsule, ligaments, and the biceps tendon help stabilize the shoulder. The stabilization from the structures, other than bone, is important because the shoulder joint has a shallow socket #shoulderpain.

If someone has problems with moving the shoulder away from the body, this can be a sign of a condition called anterior instability. This can be the result of a shoulder dislocation or repetitive motion and possibly poor mechanics or technique #shoulderinstability #anterior #dislocation.

Strength and Conditioning training can help to stabilize and strengthen the shoulder. Instability of the back part of the shoulder #posterior is less common than anterior instability. Injury may occur when the shoulder is flexed forward, and the arm is rotated internally. This can put a lot of stress on the back shoulder socket and joint.

Again, strengthening the rotator cuff and scapular muscles may be the most important thing that one can do to prevent injury. Here are some exercises that come in handy to strengthen the anterior and the posterior (front and back) of your shoulder:

– Body weight resistance such as push-ups and pull-ups
– Free weights such as dumbbells and bars (check with trainer)
– Weight machines in which you can adjust weight (check with trainer)
– Resistance bands (elastic tubing or bands like bungee cords)
– Medicine balls
– Pilates, Yoga.

It is important to know that shoulder pain is nothing to mess around with. As we stated above muscles, ligaments, joint capsule and tendons surround our shoulders. If you feel pain you should probably schedule an appointment with a specialist to get to the bottom of the shoulder pain.