Many of us experience pain in the neck and shoulder muscles. Tight muscles, caused by stress, poor posture, insufficient movement and exercise, need to be stretched on a daily basis.
The shoulder joint has the largest range of movement of all the joints in our bodies. Think of what you can do-swing your arms 360 degrees, move them up to the side of your body, swing them backwards and forwards and so on. All of the motions involved in throwing a ball, swinging a tennis racket, swimming, punching and a variety of motions in sport involve the shoulder muscles. This tremendous range of motion has a downside, which is that the shoulder is prone to instability and injury. Thus, we need to take care of the muscles and ensure they maintain their natural flexibilty, strength and range of motion.
Briefly, the shoulder muscles allow you to move your arm up and to the side of your body (deltoid muscle) as well as to rotate the arm and bring it down to the side of your body (4 muscles called the rotator cuff muscles). The deltoid is the strongest muscle and is attached to the shoulder blade (scapula) and to your upper arm (humerus) halfway down the length of the bone. The 4 rotator cuff muscles are so called because they form a cuff around the shoulder joint and they rotate the arm.
Other muscles involved in actions of the shoulder are the rhomboid muscles, attached to the shoulder blade (scapula) and the trapezius, the big triangular muscle down the top of our backs, which is also attached to the shoulder blade.
Shoulder stretch. Reach your right hand to the back of your neck, trying to touch the space between your shoulder blades. Your elbow should point to the ceiling. Now hold your right elbow with your left hand and pull gently. You should feel a stretch into your right shoulder muscles.
Stretching Guidelines 1.Breathe. Don’t hold your breath. Holding your breath can raise your blood pressure, if you do suffer from high blood pressure. In any event, it makes you more tense. The deeper you breathe, the more relaxed you are, the deeper and longer you will be able to stretch. 2.Never force a stretch beyond the point of mild discomfort. Stretching tight muscles will be uncomfortable, but you should never feel any sharp or sudden pain. If you do, stop immediately-you are pushing yourself too far. 3.Be consistent. Stretching for a few minutes each day will gradually build flexibility and range of motion. This is far preferable to stretching only once a week for a longer time. 4.Time yourself and try to increase your time in each stretch by a few seconds each week. Start with 10-15 seconds and extend this by 5 seconds each week until you can hold a stretch for at least 30 seconds.
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