The ball-and-socket shoulder joint has a lot of mobility and range. It allows us to carry groceries, clean the kitchen, and do more extreme pursuits like rock climbing or competitive gymnastics. We rely on the shoulder to do many activities every single day that it’s no wonder shoulder pain is one of the most common regional pain syndromes. In fact, 18-26% of adults experience shoulder pain on any given day.
At one point or another, we all search the web for shoulder pain relief. Sometimes shoulder pain is not the result of an injury but instead a build-up of tension or strain. The good news is this type of shoulder pain is completely preventable if you do the right exercises!
Most shoulder exercises are simple enough to do from the comfort of your own home. All you need is a bit of floor space and your own bodyweight. Try some of these quick and easy exercises below for everyday shoulder pain relief.
Neck Stretches
A lot of shoulder pain can be the result of tension in the neck. The nerves and muscles in the neck travel down through the shoulder to the arm, so the neck could be a contributing factor to increasing shoulder tension.
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For this exercise, sit or stand staring straight ahead.
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From here, bend at the neck so that you are looking at the floor. Optional: Use one hand to gently pull the head a bit further, increasing the intensity of the stretch.
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Hold for five breaths.
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Lift the head back to neutral.
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Next, tilt the head to one side, bringing the ear closer to the shoulder without lifting the shoulder. Optional: Put one hand gently on the side of the head furthest from your shoulder to deepen the stretch.
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Hold for five breaths.
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Lift the head back to neutral.
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Repeat on the other side.
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Hold for five breaths.
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Finally, from neutral, tilt the head back slightly to look at the ceiling.
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Hold for five breaths.
A note about form: While your head is in the neutral position, be sure to tuck the chin somewhat so that the back of the neck is straight. This small movement helps improve your posture and makes the stretch safer. Always back off if you feel pinching or pain.
Thread the Needle
Threading the needlestretches the muscles in your chest, shoulders, and upper back.
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Start on your hands and knees.
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Reach your right arm out to the side and then“thread the needle” by sliding your arm underneath the opposite shouldertoward the left side of the room.
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You should now be resting on your right shoulder.
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Lower your head so that it is resting on the floor.
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You can use your left hand to stabilize the pose bykeeping it close to your right arm, or you can stretch it overhead for anadded side stretch.
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Hold the pose for ten breaths before gently raisingyourself back to your hands and knees.
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Repeat on the opposite side.
Eagle Arms
Eagle arms stretch your shoulders and upper back muscles. For this exercise, sit up as straight as possible using a chair, yoga block, or meditation cushion.
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Spread your arms out to a T-position.
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Holding your arms straight, cross the arms in frontof you with one on top of the other until the insides of your elbows meet.
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Turn your hands so that you can see your palms andbend at the elbows.
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If this is enough of a stretch for you, stop here!Otherwise, you can twine the arms around each other until the hands meet,palm to palm.
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From here, hold and breathe for ten breaths.Optional: Add small movements by pulsing the elbows and hands up and down.
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Repeat pulse ten times.
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Repeat the exercise on the other side by crossingthe opposite arm on top.
Down Dog
This classic yoga pose is the perfect shoulder and chest opener. It can be done with your hands on the wall or directly on the floor, depending on your flexibility.
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Start on the floor on your hands and knees. If youneed to modify, start with your hands flat against the wall.
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Gently lift yourself into a downward-facing down bystraightening through the knees and elbows. Keep a slight bend in both toprevent overextending your joints. If your hands are on the wall, slowlywalk them lower until you feel the stretch.
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Stay here if this is enough of a stretch, thinkingabout lifting your sit bones toward the ceiling.
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Optional: Rock from downward dog to a plank andback. Rocking helps work out some of the kinks in your shoulders.
- When in a plank pose, be sure to press up throughthe shoulders, creating space between the shoulder blades. Engage thecore.
A note about form: Ifyou do your down dog on the floor, be sure to engage the core so that yourchest does not sag and put too much pressure on your upper back.
Child’s Pose
This classic yoga pose is the perfect shoulder and chest opener. It can be done with your hands on the wall or directly on the floor, depending on your flexibility. From a downward-facing dog, you can easily transition to this yoga resting pose. Child’s pose stretches the shoulders, neck, and chest.
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Start on your hands and knees.
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Press the sitting bones back until you are sittingon your heels (or as close as you can easily get them). If it is morecomfortable for your lower back, you can keep your feet together and takethe knees wide.
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Stretch the arms out in front of you and lower yourchest toward the floor.
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For those of you who work in an office, you can adda small side stretch in a child’s pose by gently walking the hands to oneside or the other. This will help decompress the mid and low back as well.
Preventing Shoulder Pain
We all know that we needto burn more calories than we put into the body to lose weight. The same istrue of tension. To keep tension from building up and causing bigger problemsin the long run, we need to remove the tension as often as possible. Add a fewof these exercises to your day for shoulder pain relief.
When you’re not stretching, Kailo canalleviate pain and help reduce tension. Apply your Kailopain patch near the area of your shoulder where you feel the pain and enjoythe rest of your day. You can also wear Kailo while you do the stretches forextra shoulder pain relief.
What are you waiting for? You can now start living the pain free life that you have hoped for. If a pain free life isn’t incentive enough, try Kailo risk free with our 90-day money back guarantee. Shop now
February 2021. This article is independently written by Fusion 360. All opinions given are the opinion of Fusion 360
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