When was the last time you swept your arm out to the side in an arc all the way up until your arm was straight up with your hand above your head?  This is called shoulder abduction and I have noticed that it is a movement we don't tend to do a lot of in everyday life.  I have also read that it is the first motion people tend to lose as they develop a "frozen" or immobile shoulder.

Recently two different clients have come to me complaining that they have noticed that they cannot do this motion without pain and/or a "thunking" of their musculature to accomplish it. A few years ago I experienced this same thing.  I was astounded to realize one day that I just couldn't get my left arm up there.  I didn't have pain, just restriction at about 3/4 of the movement.  Massage therapists will check the muscles that accomplish the action as well as the muscles which must elongate and release to allow it to happen.  So, I worked with my massage therapist, but I also realized that I just hadn't been moving this way for a long time.  So I started to just raise my arm a lot!  Everyday while walking from the bathroom to my office.  Lying on the floor after some sit-ups.  Every time I thought of it I moved this way. 

I didn't force anything and it is important to realize that forcing a joint to move past a restriction is not a good idea.  The body will tighten everything around that area in response to preserve the joint.  So, my goal being loosening, not tightening, I would do the movement, but just gently into the zone of restriction.  Yes, I challenged the joint to open up more each time, but not with force, and not many, many repetitions.  Maybe just 2-3 repetitions over many days.  And what do you know, I got all the range of motion back!  It took a long time, maybe months of continuous thinking about it and working with it.

Preserving the full range of motion in joints is a worthwhile endeavor.  It keeps your joints healthy and strong and allows you to live fully in your body for your whole lifetime.  I once met a 90 year old woman who could not move her shoulders at all.  I asked her if she knew how this happened to her.  She knew exactly how it happened.  She took up knitting and for one whole winter pretty much all she did all day long was knit.  She never raised her arms.  And since then she can't.  At 90 this is going to be difficult and maybe impossible to change.  Remember to move and in lots of different ways.

                    Shoulder Abduction

The Incredible Human Shoulder

1.  It is made up of three bones: the clavicle or collar bone, the scapula, or shoulder blade, the humerus, the long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons.

2.  The articulations between the bones of the shoulder make up the shoulder joint.  A joint is the location at which two or more bones make contact. They are constructed to allow movement and provide mechanical support.

3. There are two kinds of cartilage in the joint. The first type is the white cartilage on the ends of the bones (called articular cartilage) which allows the bones to glide and move on each other. When this type of cartilage starts to wear out (a process called arthritis), the joint becomes painful and stiff. The labrum is a second kind of cartilage in the shoulder which is distinctly different from the articular cartilage. This cartilage is more fibrous or rigid than the cartilage on the ends of the ball and socket. Also, this cartilage is also found only around the socket where it is attached.

4. The shoulder must be flexible for the wide range of motion required in the arms and hands and also strong enough to allow for actions such as lifting, pushing and pulling. The compromise between these two functions sometimes results in shoulder problems.