by Julie Donnelly, Guest Author
of Dr. Stephen Chaney
Yesterday I was at my sailing club and a man was sitting watching the water, rubbing his shoulder and clearly in pain. I asked him what was wrong and he said he had a sore shoulder for the past three months and he desperately wanted to find some pain relief.
He loves to sail and this sore shoulder pain was preventing him from going out on the water. He said he had already been to a massage therapist, a physical therapist, and a chiropractor.
He finally went to an orthopedic surgeon and was told that surgery was the only way to relieve the pain of his sore shoulder, but he had decided that he didn’t want to take that path…yet.
Why Muscles Cause Sore Shoulder Pain
I use an analogy that makes it so clear why spasms in will cause joint pain. If you pull your hair your scalp will hurt, but you don’t need to massage your scalp, or take aspirin for your headache, and you definitely don’t need brain surgery. You simply need to let go of your hair! Your shoulder has more muscle attachments than any joint in your body.
Each muscle pulls your shoulder in a different direction, but as the muscle gets tight it puts pressure on the bone. Your sore shoulder pain is the end result – just like pulling your hair hurts your head.
To get relief all you need to do is release the tension in the muscles.
Stretching WON’T Help Relieve Sore Shoulder Pain!
It is important to untie the knots (spasms) in the muscles before stretching. Think of what happens if you take a 12-foot length of rope, tie enough knots in it so it is 11 feet long, and then try to stretch it back to 12 feet without first untying the knots. This is what will happen to your muscle fibers if you stretch without first releasing the spasms.
My years of working with athletes who not only have sore shoulder pain, but also have pain in every joint caused by their repetitive strain. Working with athletes showed me that it was vital to teach them how to do self-treatments they could use during a race or competition.
This led to several books and DVD programs, including my Focused Flexibility Training. On one DVD, I demonstrate how to self-treat every muscle from your head to foot, and then on two DVDs (1 Upper Body and 1 Lower Body.)
Ana Johnson, a fantastic yoga instructor, leads you through self-treating the muscles you will be stretching, and then a 30-minute yoga program. It works to quickly eliminate sore shoulder pain, as well as pain and stiffness throughout your body.
There are several treatments for sore shoulder pain, each addressing a different group of muscles that pull your shoulder and arm in the wide range of motions you make every day without even thinking about it.
Self Treatment For Sore Shoulder Pain
Place the Perfect Ball as shown in the picture, and lean your weight into the ball. Look for the “hot spot,” which will be tender. As you lean into the ball, then take the pressure off, and then lean again, you’ll find the muscle becoming less and less painful.
Move the ball to different areas of your shoulder, finding the various painful points. Each one is a spasm that is causing your sore shoulder pain. You can enhance this treatment by slowly drawing your arm across your body while you are still pressing into the ball.
Since the spasms have been released, this movement will safely stretch the muscle fibers. As you release each spasm, and then stretch, you’ll find pain relief, and you’ll know how to stop pain quickly and easily should it return.
As for the man I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, I’m happy to say that today he told me he slept through the night for the first time in weeks, and he’s getting better every time he does the self-treatments I taught him. That is so fulfilling — I LOVE my work!
With some knowledge of how to find spasms, how to self-treat them, and how to stretch properly, you can Stop Pain FAST!
This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Julie Donnelly is a Deep Muscle Massage Therapist with 20 years of experience specializing in the treatment of chronic joint pain and sports injuries. She has worked extensively with elite athletes and patients who have been unsuccessful at finding relief through the more conventional therapies. She has been widely published, both on- and off-line, in magazines, newsletters, and newspapers around the country. She is also often chosen to speak at national conventions, medical schools, and health facilities nationwide.
Dr. Chaney has a BS in Chemistry from Duke University and a PhD in Biochemistry from UCLA. He is Professor Emeritus from the University of North Carolina where he taught biochemistry and nutrition to medical and dental students for 40 years. Dr. Chaney won numerous teaching awards at UNC, including the Academy of Educators “Excellence in Teaching Lifetime Achievement Award.” Dr Chaney also ran an active cancer research program at UNC and published over 100 scientific articles and reviews in peer-reviewed scientific journals. In addition, he authored two chapters on nutrition in one of the leading biochemistry text books for medical students.