Description
These exercises are trying to “loosen up” the posterior shoulder muscles (posterior deltoid, infraspinatus, teres minor, teres major and latissimus dorsi) using a lacrosse ball. Depending on your case, I may have recommended focusing on a particular area but this covers all of them. These muscles are often dysfunctional during any type of shoulder issue. They could be the source of the problem, or a secondary issue. In any case, they can alter your shoulder mechanics and lead to other shoulder issues if they are not addressed. The posterior shoulder muscles can also be a significant source of pain and this exercise is often prescribed to alleviate these symptoms.
The reason these muscles are tight, sore and dysfunctional in the first place can be quite complex. We may not necessarily be treating the root cause of the issue with this exercise, but it is still important to address these muscles. Often times I will want you to do this rolling before we start strengthening.
What you should feel
You will be rolling over the “tight and sore” spots in the back of your shoulder, along the outside edge of our shoulder blade. These spots are myofascial trigger points (muscle knots) that you will be trying to loosen up. You can expect this to be a little bit sore, but it needs to be tolerable. You have to be able to relax while you do these exercises. Too much pain will cause you to tense up and will reduce the effectiveness of the rolling. When you are rolling, you can expect it to feel like a massage (if you’ve had one). It should be a combination of relieving and sore at the same time!
Stop this exercise if you are unsure about what you are feeling or if it is painful in an unexpected way.
Posterior Shoulder Rolling
Instructions
Here are the instructions and there is a video below that explains it all:
- A lacrosse ball is preferred, because it is very firm, it doesn’t slide away easily (it sticks to the wall a bit) and it is small enough to get into the areas we are targeting.
- Place the ball against the wall and the outside edge of your shoulder blade.
- Use your other hand to feel for the outside edge of your shoulder blade if you need to.
- Variation 1: Keep your arm at your side during the exercise. This would be recommended if your shoulder is in a lot of pain and you can’t tolerate variation 2.
- Variation 2: Cross your arm over so that you are holding onto your opposite shoulder.
- Roll up and down along the outside edge of your shoulder blade, all the way up to where the armpit (unless I indicated to only focus on a particular area).
- Roll until you find the “tight and sore” spots that we’re looking for. I most likely identified one or two spots in the clinic for you to roll!
- When you find a spot, spend some extra time doing smaller amplitude rolling over the spot. You need to apply enough pressure that you’re doing something (massaging it) but not so much pressure that you’re tensing up due to pain. There is a “sweet zone” that you need to find.
- You may need to adjust your pressure over some areas to keep it tolerable.
- How long you spend on each sore spot depends on your case, but I usually recommend about 1 minute. After 1 minute, keep rolling around until you find another spot and repeat.
- You’ll probably find 2-3 “spots” to roll out!
Parameters
mdkPHYSIO provides specific parameters to all patients. In general, 1-minute per trigger point (tight and sore spot) is spent. After you’re done, you will have probably spent 2-4 minutes doing this. The frequency (times per day) is also dependent on your case. Too much can cause a flare-up, while too little may not do enough!
Video
Posterior Shoulder Rolling Modification
Instructions
This is a modification to the exercise above, adding movement into the exercise. This works well for some people, but may not be recommended if you are unable to get a good release with this exercise or it is too painful.
- A lacrosse ball is preferred, because it is very firm, it doesn’t slide away easily (it sticks to the wall a bit) and it is small enough to get into the areas we are targeting.
- Place the ball against the wall and the outside edge of your shoulder blade.
- Use your other hand to feel for the outside edge of your shoulder blade if you need to.
- Cross your arm over so that you are holding onto your opposite shoulder.
- Roll up and down along the outside edge of your shoulder blade, all the way up to where the armpit (unless I indicated to only focus on a particular area).
- Roll until you find the “tight and sore” spots that we’re looking for. I most likely identified one or two spots in the clinic for you to roll!
- When you find a spot, lean into it so that it is “pinned down.”
- You may need to use your other hand to hold the ball in place while you perform this exercise.
- While the spot is held down, bring your arm back to resting at your side, and then bring it across to your other shoulder again.
- While you go across, you should feel a pull / stretch from where the ball is. This should feel a bit sore but also relieving at the same time.
Parameters
mdkPHYSIO provides specific parameters to all patients. In general, 4 arm movements per “tight and sore spot” is recommended.
Precautions
If you feel unexpected pain or sensations, or this is reproducing symptoms, it is best not to do this exercise right away. I will likely ask you to just stick with the rolling exercise (first video on this page), but hold off for now and let me know.
