Pete RohlederHi everyone! Welcome to the More to Movement podcast, the show about why your movement matters and how to get optimal results through science-backed practical solutions.
Today is part 3 of my top 3, go-to movement assessments to pinpoint areas of improvement, and I am discussing shoulder rotation. Would you be surprised if I told you that a lack of mobility at the shoulder could be contributing to low-back pain or even how we breathe? You better believe it. Let’s chat about how to assess this, so we know how to fix it. Let’s get to it!
Hey movers! Welcome back to the show!
Ok, if possible, I want you to freeze. Don’t move. Whether you are standing or sitting, just freeze and quickly observe your shoulders and upper back position.
I’m going to guess most of you have the following position: shoulders rolled forward, upper back tight, head forward and chin slightly down, and slightly slumped forward.
Be honest, did I get it?
The truth is MOST of us have acquired this position. I could list all the things that contribute, but if I had to pick two, it would be sitting too much and looking at our phones all day. Big surprise, right? Especially when the average adult spends 11-12 hours a day in front of a device.
You heard me right: 11-12 hours. This is one of those things I mentioned when I talked about the Movement Mindset- are we aware of our daily habits? Are we mindful of what we are doing, how we are moving, and what is impacting our movement quality?
The shoulders include more than just the deltoids. The shoulders encompass all the muscles that influence the glenohumeral and scapulothoracic joints, which include almost all the upper torso’s muscles. So needless to say, dysfunction here is typically not localized to one muscle, but to the dynamic malalignment of over and underactive tissues in the system.
The shoulders play a huge role in force transfer through the body, improving efficiency from upper to lower body and back again. Don’t think so? Try running without moving your arms. If you try it, you’ll notice that you have excessive rotation at the trunk, and its harder to balance. That’s because arm-drive at the shoulder contributes to a diagonal stretch through the tissues of the body.
Termed the “Elastic Support Mechanism,” this relationship allows force to transfer up and down the body and distributes forces throughout the body, preventing a concentrated area of force. If we have dysfunction at the shoulder, we limit that efficiency and set us up for poor movement outcomes or injury.
Think back to the posture exercise I just had you do. If shoulders are rolled forward, mass distribution of that tissue shifts anteriorly, putting undue stress on the middle and lower back tissue, forcing them to work harder to maintain balanced tension. If that’s occurring, you can bet you have some back pain or discomfort. Further, that anterior shift puts more pressure on the anterior thorax, therefore putting more pressure on the diaphragm. More pressure on the diaphragm will lead to more shallow, chest breathing as opposed to deep, diaphragmatic breathing.
Who’d a thought that all this dysfunction could come from the shoulders?
There so much more to this. But for now, I’ll focus on the fundamental movements that can provide you a significant amount of information about the mobility and state of the tissues at the shoulder.
The first part of this is what I had you start with- your static posture. Stand in front of the mirror and turn to one side. Don’t fix how you stand, just stand normally, and take a look at your reflection.
Many of you will have the posture I stated earlier, and the main thing you are looking for is a rounded upper back and shoulder forward. This is immediately indicative of disfunction.
What you hope to have is a “stacked” image: ears in line with your shoulder, and your shoulders in line with your hips. That already provides you tons of insight into your tissues’ state, but let’s follow it up with a basic assessment to observe internal and external rotation capability.
Shoulder Rotation Wall Mobility Test
This test is the shoulder rotation wall mobility assessment. It measures the ability of the shoulder to internally and externally rotate.
Why is that important? It helps confirm for us the tissues that are over or underactive that contribute to dysfunction, and it gives us insight into the force potential and functional ability through the shoulder girdle. Poor internal and external range of motion at the shoulder compromises the integrity of the shoulder joint, setting us up for potential injury.
Just a final reminder that I’ll have graphics of this assessment on the show note’s page at moretomovement.com/episode13, as well as a “correction cheat sheet” of the common muscles that need to be addressed based on what discrepancy you notice. This will be in my Vault at moretomovement.com. If this is something you want, sign up on the site to gain access to the Vault, where I have expert tips and resources for those who want to enhance their movement journey. It’s all free, so check out the site and join me!
To perform this assessment:
- First, find a wall, and place your head, upper back, glutes, and heels up against the wall.
- Abduct your shoulders and flex your elbows, meaning lift your arms, so the back of your arms are against the wall, the elbows are bent, and forearms pointed out, parallel to the ground. Visually yourself as a letter “t.”
- Now rotate your shoulders up and back (externally rotate), so the back of your hands move up, aiming to put them up against the wall.
- Return to the start, then rotate your shoulders down (internally rotate) so the palms of your hands are aiming to touch the wall.
The goal for both of these movements is to touch the wall or at least be within 2-3 inches of the wall.
Be aware that the rest of your body needs to stay put. If your shoulders shrug, or if the elbows drop down or move up, or if you excessively arch your back to touch the wall, dysfunction is present.
Takeaways
If you have trouble bringing the back of your hand toward the wall (externally rotating), your internal rotators are overactive, because they do not have the extensibility to go through that range of motion. Some muscles to focus on addressing would be the pectoralis major and latissimus dorsi.
The same goes for the opposite direction. If you have trouble bring the palm of your hand down toward the wall (internally rotating), your external rotators are overactive. Some muscles to focus on the posterior deltoid and the infraspinatus of the rotator cuff.
I ‘ve mentioned releasing tissue quite a bit, and I didn’t define it purposefully. If I had said foam roll, most would say, “oh, I do that. I got it”. But you know me- just because you are doing something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s effective or efficient. The truth is, there is a lot of myths out there regarding self-tissue release mobility techniques, and further, many don’t actually know what they are doing and why they are doing it. If you know what you are tapping into and how to do it properly, you can yield precise tissue responses, which will lead to better outcomes. I’ll chat about this and discuss it properly in a future episode, so be on the lookout for that.
There are tons of assessments you can do, but the three I covered over the last three episodes will address a majority of yours, your client’s, or your patient’s movement issues.
These past three episodes were a tangible takeaway because they gave you a sequence of movements to help identify the things causing discomfort and prevent you from reaching your optimal fitness and performance levels, so let me give you some insight as a bonus.
It’s great to identify movement issues, and it will definitely start to improve your movement efficiency.
However, what will make a bigger impact is if you can determine the tissues that are the primary culprits. For example, if you feel tightness in your lower back during the overhead squat assessment, you recognize that those muscles are compromised. But what muscle or muscles are really causing the problems? Could it be the big muscles of the back, like the Erector Spinae? How about the deeper tissues, like Quadratus Lumborum or the Multifidi? Could it be due to a position of the hips causes by supporting or opposing muscles, like the Hip Flexor or Adductor Complexes? This is a bit more advanced, but for you professionals listening out there (or anyone who nerds out with this stuff), I encourage you to dive into the mechanics of movement. That way, you can do continual, follow-up assessments to pinpoint the issues, and evolve your mobility techniques to enhance movement frequently.
So using the example above, maybe I do the squat without the arms overhead; then with a heel lift; then perhaps a single-leg squat, all to observe the pattern and look for commonalities or changes in the patterns. This helps you identify specific tissues that may be causing the problems. There is some trial and error, but it allows you to be efficient with your strategies.
I’d love to see and hear how these are going for you all. If you have questions about your movement, send me a message, or better yet, send me a photo or clip of your assessment, and I’d be happy to give you some feedback! Reach out to me at pete@moretomovement.com or on Instagram at pete.rohleder.
Thanks again y’all. Take care of yourselves, and remember, wherever you are, keep moving.
Pete Rohleder
