Well, ladies and gentlemen, we have made it to the happiest time of the year. In celebration of this holiday, there are a lot of decorators out and about. Because of the increase in activity, many individuals start experiencing increased shoulder pain secondary to reaching overhead. The majority of the time, this shoulder pain is due to what we call “shoulder impingement”. Most patients with shoulder impingement have weakness of shoulder stabilizer and rotator cuff muscles. The best way to combat this overhead pain (other than strengthening exercises) is to maintain shoulder retraction (squeezing shoulder blades together) while reaching overhead. By doing this, the shoulder is in a more optimal position to avoid impingement from occurring. If you continue to have this problem, come see us at Jones Physical Therapy to learn proper ways to strengthen shoulder stabilizer muscles and rotator cuff muscles.

Garrett Dinicola, PT, DPT