Shoulder health help

[Kguzda46]

Hello,

I have a mailman job where my shoulders and elbows take a beating from 4-5 hours of continuous movement, raising, extension, repetitive handling of mail. I don’t have an acute injury . but lately my shoulders are just both very achy and stiff at times. Some days they are ok . Last week I had off for a few days and didn’t work or do strength and conditioning and they felt noticeable better. Recently I came across an article by Dr. John Rusin and saw that a daily regimen of banded face pulls, pull aparts, and over and backs with the band may be a good starting point to help bulletproof the shoulders? I also read using Indian club exercises may help. Are these good movements or can you possibly advise of something different that you recommend? Thank you

[Michael Ray]

Hey Kguzda46 thanks for the question.

Often, people make blanket claims about "health" of joints or "prevention" of pain but these statements typically remain completely unfounded pseudoscientific BS (case in point John Rusin). Regarding your job, typically we adapt to these demands of our jobs and manual tasks don't inevitably mean pain symptoms or loss of function. Overall sounds like you are experiencing the usual aches and pain with highs and lows - what really matters is how you handle the days you feel a bit worse. Typically having coping mechanisms in place to help minimize hyperfocusing on the symptoms or chunking out work with (when possible) mini breaks away from the repetitive task helps out a lot. Happy to discuss more.

[Kguzda46]

Thanks for the reply. I tend to agree that what I’m dealing with is just normal aches and pains. The fact that it’s not a “pain” per say or lasting feeling confirms that. Do you think there is still merit though in working in banded dynamic movements to strengthen shoulder/upper back areas?

[Michael Ray]

Thanks for the reply. I tend to agree that what I’m dealing with is just normal aches and pains. The fact that it’s not a “pain” per say or lasting feeling confirms that. Do you think there is still merit though in working in banded dynamic movements to strengthen shoulder/upper back areas?

No, I wouldn't recommend that approach. If we are talking about strengthening an area then that is related to the task we are wanting to improve at. Example - improving weight lifted in the overhead press in essence is improving overhead strength but it's relative to the task of pressing overhead. With that said, I'm definitely an advocate of performing resistance training exercises with the goal of increasing strength for a multitude of positive physiological benefits. However, a basic principle of resistance training is progressive overload which stipulates we must progress the exercise stimulus (volume, intensity) over time to elicit adaptations. In the beginning stages a body-weight or banded exercise may be appropriate but at some point that will need to be progressed to elicit further adaptations otherwise we have diminishing returns on your time and effort. I still wouldn't advocate for the exercises you've mentioned based on the narratives that are being supplied. Make sense?

[jurke]

No, I wouldn't recommend that approach. If we are talking about strengthening an area then that is related to the task we are wanting to improve at. Example - improving weight lifted in the overhead press in essence is improving overhead strength but it's relative to the task of pressing overhead. With that said, I'm definitely an advocate of performing resistance training exercises with the goal of increasing strength for a multitude of positive physiological benefits. However, a basic principle of resistance training is progressive overload which stipulates we must progress the exercise stimulus (volume, intensity) over time to elicit adaptations. In the beginning stages a body-weight or banded exercise may be appropriate but at some point that will need to be progressed to elicit further adaptations otherwise we have diminishing returns on your time and effort. I still wouldn't advocate for the exercises you've mentioned based on the narratives that are being supplied. Make sense?

Hi Michael,

I know I am quoting an old thread but... how would you explain things like facepulls, band pull aparts, discloations etc. providing pain relief? Is it something bloodflow related or is it simple due to increasing core temp etc?

I notice anecdotally that if my shoulder is bothering me, a set of high rep band pull aparts "seems" to provide acute relief..

[DGraves]

I had problems with my shoulders because of my work in the office, so the training started with strengthening my back so that I wouldn't hurt myself even more. There are special rollers for the back, try them, they help to relieve the tension. Massage also helps.

[Derek Miles]

Jurke,
There isn't really an easy answer to your question but it is likely easier to say that it does not have anything to do with blood flow or core temp. Those exercises can certainly provide relief but it often has as much to do with moving in different ways as anything else. Variation in training (or managing symptoms) can prove beneficial at times as different exercises can almost be framed as different ways of asking the question "is this okay" with movement. Part of the reason that programs often include general prep work is that different variations can help build more general athletic robustness. There is not anything inherent special about the exercise per se, it is more finding things that work, and building from there.