Strong Shoulders 2: Stability vs. Mobility
Posted in: Shoulder Ergonomics Printable Version: Strong Shoulders 2: Stability vs. Mobility.pdf• The shoulder joint can move a lot because of its structure (ball and socket) and due to the lack of rigid, bony connection points to the rest of the body. This unique structure of the shoulder allows us to move our hand into many positions. Think of all of the things that you do with your shoulder – from throwing a fastball to slicing your opening golf shot. The only downside of the mobility is that it comes at the price of stability.
• As with our back, the best strategy for keeping the shoulder safe is to keep it in a ‘neutral’ and stable position, well protected by muscles and ligaments. Your shoulder is strongest and safest when your elbow is close to the side of your body and your hands are below shoulder height.
• There are two key building blocks that help keep our shoulders stable. The first comes from the muscles that attach the shoulder blade to your back and the second are the ‘rotator cuff’ muscles that help to hold the arm bone tightly in the socket joint of the shoulder blade (keeps the ball in the socket).
• One of the reasons shoulders are frequently injured is that our shoulder muscles adapt to our poor habits. Poor posture, such as slouching forward, can lead our shoulder muscles to become imbalanced (e.g. chest muscles become too tight, and muscles in back of shoulder become weak, resulting in the shoulder being pulled forward).
• If our muscles don’t hold the bones in the right position, the shoulder joint is less strong, less stable and at greater risk of injury.