Posture and
Shoulder Function
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Posture and
Shoulder Function
Our posture tells the story of what we do for the majority of our day and, over time, our life. It is affected by what we do for work, for sport or recreation and it also reflects our physical and mental health. Unfortunately, our bodies adapt to what we spend the majority of our time doing. Due to our sedentary lifestyles, prolonged sitting, and frequent and extended use of our phones and computers, our bodies have adapted and not for the better. Faulty posture and movement patterns may be related to:
Changes in our posture (the alignment of our spine) can change the way we move our body, including our shoulder joints.
Our posture can change:
All of these factors can lead to rotator cuff related pain syndrome.
1. Check out the video below.
2. Now lift your arms again. Does your mobility improve and does the pain or feeling change?
Your spine alignment is controlled by muscles including your core (abdominal muscles) and spinal muscles. If you start in good alignment you are starting in a good position. This is like when the centre of the rope is in the middle of two teams during a game of tug of war. If the rope is not centered (poor posture) your team is at a disadvantage from the start.
Your scapulothoracic muscles (the muscles that move your shoulder blades and anchor it to your rib cage) are your anchorman. If the anchorman is strong and stabilizing at the base of the team then the muscles lifting the arm (your rotator cuff) can lift more efficiently and are stronger. If the anchorman were to let go, their team would be pulled forward and those muscles lifting the arm have to work much harder to pull and lift the arm. It is much easier to lift the arm with a stable base in a good postural start position.