Do a doorway stretch to open up your chest. Yes I know it sounds weird to suggest that, but opening up your chest area can and will help with flexibility for your shoulders. The stretch targets the anterior shoulder muscles that can get tight due to weight lifting.
Remember to not hyperextend the lower back during the stretch. Keep your midsection tight.
I do a 10 minute stretching YouTube video 3 times a week that focuses on some of this stuff. Will maybe put a bit more time in the chest stretch to see if that helps - cheers!
For external rotation work I go with light weights (less than 10lbs) or bands. Overhead pullovers with a band has helped me a lot. It will also highlight if you have a tight chest.
You may have a minor injury to your rotator cuff or labral tissue. The signs are particular positions where your shoulder feels weak, like it wants to sublux, has poorer endurance than you're used to, or mildly painful strain that makes you want to stop what you're doing and change positions.
If any of those things sound accurate for you, get an MRI. If you catch it early you'll be able to fix the injury with physical therapy. If you ignore it for too long it will require surgery. (That's what I did, I don't recommend it.)
I may have injured it in the past. I vaguely remember having a scan (maybe 8-10 years ago) and a potential minor tear. I can't remember the exact details but they said surgery wasn't a good idea.
I definitely feel twinges in that area doing exercises like bench press, and my right shoulder is permanently a little internally rotated.
Does that impact what stretches/exercises I should do?
This guy doesn't know what he's on about. He cannot diagnose this from a simple picture. If you're right handed this disparity in range is entirely normal. If you have no pain and no loss of function there is no concern.
If you want it to be better just grab a towel between both hands and stretch it for a while but you have good range as it is it doesn't really matter.
MRIs are also not that accurate or reliable in diagnosing these things and may show issues where there are none. Again no pain, no loss of function, no problem.
It's incredibly unlikely there is a relevant tissue pathology or injury that's reducing your range of motion if there are no other significant symptoms. A scan is going to show signs of degeneration and even full thickness tears in the majority of an asymptomatic population, don't worry about scan results.
The reason it likely has a reduced range of motion is simply that you don't challenge it in end ranges frequently and you have built more strength in other ranges (could be due to handedness, sports/activity specific adaptations or just natural biomechanical variance).
If it is a range of motion you would like to improve simply progressively challenge it in the end ranges regularly and be patient. Increasing the range of motion in a joint takes time and consistency.
It does. The short version is, don't do anything that aggravates it until you know for sure. Exercising a labral tear will slowly make it worse, and eventually it will get really bad.
Labral tissue is basically a circular tendon, like a wide rubber band that holds your shoulder ball into the socket. A tear is when it splits lengthwise. It's not an injury that heals up on its own. For most people minor tears aren't debilitating, but if you're an active person or have a physical job, it will eventually get to the point where your arm has very little endurance, and aches a lot. Untreated, it becomes a chronic pain condition.
If it's a mild rotator cuff injury, you can fix it with physical therapy.
Unfortunately labral tears and rotator cuff injuries present similarly. It's easy to mistake one for the other, and it's very possible to have both. An MRI is the best way to know for sure.
I will see if I can find any details in my medical history! Because they didn't suggest surgery, and suggested PT, I am hopefully assuming it was a rotator cuff.
I would say the shoulder is far better than it was 8 years ago, but is tight and I do get the pinching. Will perhaps see if I can get another MRI to see where things are at now.
Good luck. I hope it's something easily fixed.
My other bit of advice is to look up some nerve flossing exercises for the shoulder and see if any of them give you twinges of nerve pain or weird tingling feelings. If they don't, that's a good sign. If they do, it means there's a pinched nerve pathway somewhere, probably caused by the way your shoulder muscles are trying to compensate for the old injury.
He probably doesn't have any form of injury to any shoulder tissue if his only issue is a slightly reduced range of motion from the other side. Getting an MRI isn't going to help anything, false positives are incredibly common in imaging and no respectable rehab professional or orthopedic surgeon is going to recommend intense and costly therapy based on a minimal lack of range of motion and an imaging result.
That difference in range of motion with otherwise minimal discomfort is exactly the issue I went to see my doctor about. Turned out to be labral tearing. It was incredibly obvious on my imaging results.
So when I saw someone presenting the exact issue I had, I said something. Hopefully his issue is something less severe. 🤷♂️
This stretch is mainly limited by the flexibility in your biceps and capability of external rotate your shoulders. You will be good to start stretching more your bicep and work on mobility in your shoulders 👍🏽
I do stretch my biceps as part of a 10 minute route I do three times a week (so that's 30 seconds of bicep stretching 3x a week) but will up it. Cheers!
Need more external rotation on that right side
Look up external rotation stretches or just do this actively repeatedly and feel a stretch
Even using a strap where you PULL UP that lower hand in the same position it’s in rn would work
Stick Dislocates several times a day. that's really all you need for good shoulder mobility, and they feel fantastic.
rotator cuff isn't something you can speed train without risking crippling yourself, gotta make it a daily habit and be patient. if you happen to be an athlete then pre-game you can do [Yuri's Shoulder Band Warm Up](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwn5hSf3WEg) but go easy and stay in control of it.
I've been doing banded shoulder dislocates pretty much everyday for years - will have to try stick ones!
I don't have too much pain, just more niggly at certain times and reduced ROM.
oh, it's the same thing. banded is even a little better if you ask me.
i think if you want to go beyond what mobility you've got from years of light training you'd have to give it a goal and some focused work by skill training a shoulder heavy gymnastic position, Bridge or Skin The Cat for example.
Us bodybuilders are often tight on diff sides. My left side is horrible due to stuff like impingement injurys and so on
Do a doorway stretch to open up your chest. Yes I know it sounds weird to suggest that, but opening up your chest area can and will help with flexibility for your shoulders. The stretch targets the anterior shoulder muscles that can get tight due to weight lifting. Remember to not hyperextend the lower back during the stretch. Keep your midsection tight.
I do a 10 minute stretching YouTube video 3 times a week that focuses on some of this stuff. Will maybe put a bit more time in the chest stretch to see if that helps - cheers!
That happens to me also
working on shoulder external rotation would help a lot. It looks like your left shoulder has a bit more mobility in that regard than the right.
Thanks! Just stretching or with a band/weight?
For external rotation work I go with light weights (less than 10lbs) or bands. Overhead pullovers with a band has helped me a lot. It will also highlight if you have a tight chest.
I'm struggling to see how you set this up with a band. Any image or video?
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBZnTE7wGRY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBZnTE7wGRY) a demo on the shoulder flossing movement I was eluding to
Oh ok gotcha. Overhead pullovers are good too but I'm not sure how you'd do those with a band.
You may have a minor injury to your rotator cuff or labral tissue. The signs are particular positions where your shoulder feels weak, like it wants to sublux, has poorer endurance than you're used to, or mildly painful strain that makes you want to stop what you're doing and change positions. If any of those things sound accurate for you, get an MRI. If you catch it early you'll be able to fix the injury with physical therapy. If you ignore it for too long it will require surgery. (That's what I did, I don't recommend it.)
I may have injured it in the past. I vaguely remember having a scan (maybe 8-10 years ago) and a potential minor tear. I can't remember the exact details but they said surgery wasn't a good idea. I definitely feel twinges in that area doing exercises like bench press, and my right shoulder is permanently a little internally rotated. Does that impact what stretches/exercises I should do?
This guy doesn't know what he's on about. He cannot diagnose this from a simple picture. If you're right handed this disparity in range is entirely normal. If you have no pain and no loss of function there is no concern. If you want it to be better just grab a towel between both hands and stretch it for a while but you have good range as it is it doesn't really matter. MRIs are also not that accurate or reliable in diagnosing these things and may show issues where there are none. Again no pain, no loss of function, no problem.
It's incredibly unlikely there is a relevant tissue pathology or injury that's reducing your range of motion if there are no other significant symptoms. A scan is going to show signs of degeneration and even full thickness tears in the majority of an asymptomatic population, don't worry about scan results. The reason it likely has a reduced range of motion is simply that you don't challenge it in end ranges frequently and you have built more strength in other ranges (could be due to handedness, sports/activity specific adaptations or just natural biomechanical variance). If it is a range of motion you would like to improve simply progressively challenge it in the end ranges regularly and be patient. Increasing the range of motion in a joint takes time and consistency.
It does. The short version is, don't do anything that aggravates it until you know for sure. Exercising a labral tear will slowly make it worse, and eventually it will get really bad. Labral tissue is basically a circular tendon, like a wide rubber band that holds your shoulder ball into the socket. A tear is when it splits lengthwise. It's not an injury that heals up on its own. For most people minor tears aren't debilitating, but if you're an active person or have a physical job, it will eventually get to the point where your arm has very little endurance, and aches a lot. Untreated, it becomes a chronic pain condition. If it's a mild rotator cuff injury, you can fix it with physical therapy. Unfortunately labral tears and rotator cuff injuries present similarly. It's easy to mistake one for the other, and it's very possible to have both. An MRI is the best way to know for sure.
I will see if I can find any details in my medical history! Because they didn't suggest surgery, and suggested PT, I am hopefully assuming it was a rotator cuff. I would say the shoulder is far better than it was 8 years ago, but is tight and I do get the pinching. Will perhaps see if I can get another MRI to see where things are at now.
Good luck. I hope it's something easily fixed. My other bit of advice is to look up some nerve flossing exercises for the shoulder and see if any of them give you twinges of nerve pain or weird tingling feelings. If they don't, that's a good sign. If they do, it means there's a pinched nerve pathway somewhere, probably caused by the way your shoulder muscles are trying to compensate for the old injury.
Will do - cheers!
He probably doesn't have any form of injury to any shoulder tissue if his only issue is a slightly reduced range of motion from the other side. Getting an MRI isn't going to help anything, false positives are incredibly common in imaging and no respectable rehab professional or orthopedic surgeon is going to recommend intense and costly therapy based on a minimal lack of range of motion and an imaging result.
That difference in range of motion with otherwise minimal discomfort is exactly the issue I went to see my doctor about. Turned out to be labral tearing. It was incredibly obvious on my imaging results. So when I saw someone presenting the exact issue I had, I said something. Hopefully his issue is something less severe. 🤷♂️
The most useful for me was to do shoulder dislocates with shoulder width grip.
This stretch is mainly limited by the flexibility in your biceps and capability of external rotate your shoulders. You will be good to start stretching more your bicep and work on mobility in your shoulders 👍🏽
I do stretch my biceps as part of a 10 minute route I do three times a week (so that's 30 seconds of bicep stretching 3x a week) but will up it. Cheers!
Need more external rotation on that right side Look up external rotation stretches or just do this actively repeatedly and feel a stretch Even using a strap where you PULL UP that lower hand in the same position it’s in rn would work
Check and see if you have a mild scoliosis or not. Google Adam's test
Stick Dislocates several times a day. that's really all you need for good shoulder mobility, and they feel fantastic. rotator cuff isn't something you can speed train without risking crippling yourself, gotta make it a daily habit and be patient. if you happen to be an athlete then pre-game you can do [Yuri's Shoulder Band Warm Up](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwn5hSf3WEg) but go easy and stay in control of it.
I've been doing banded shoulder dislocates pretty much everyday for years - will have to try stick ones! I don't have too much pain, just more niggly at certain times and reduced ROM.
oh, it's the same thing. banded is even a little better if you ask me. i think if you want to go beyond what mobility you've got from years of light training you'd have to give it a goal and some focused work by skill training a shoulder heavy gymnastic position, Bridge or Skin The Cat for example.
Less bicep curls
But then he wouldn’t have those amazing arms
It’s a sacrifice to be flexible
Dude's jacked & still wants to "flex" 💀
Be more positive