Fit and fine: What’s triggering that shoulder pain

Here’s how you can shrug off that nagging shoulder strain

Urvashi , a gifted computer animator, has worked on a number of award-winning television commercials in a short span of three years. She spends long hours on her very high-end computer workstation. Sometimes, to meet a deadline, she has to work for 24 hours at a stretch.

Do these elbow push-ups to relieve shoulder strain (Illustration: Mitrarun Haldar)

As she felt rather unfit at one point, her boyfriend invited her to train with him. He challenged her to do a handstand push-up. Urvashi, being the super competitive person she is, managed to do a handstand push-up. But by the time she got home, her right shoulder was on fire. She could not raise her arm while taking her T-shirt off!

So, what was it that was causing so much pain in her shoulder and how can one deal with it. Let’s find out...

What’s causing the nagging ache:

Urvashi’s shoulder strain had developed over a period of time. It was essentially a result of her sedentary lifestyle, sitting hunched at her desk, which led to her chest muscles becoming tight and upper back muscles becoming weak. The trigger was the sudden load of the handstand push-up in the gym.

The shoulder is the most mobile joint in the body (Illustration: Mitrarun Haldar)

The shoulder is the most mobile joint in the body. It allows us to move the arm 360 degrees. That mobility lets us play tennis, pick up an item from the top shelf while shopping and also reach into our back pockets to pull out our wallets. But this mobility comes at a price. The rotator cuff muscles, which lie close to the shoulder joint, have to counter balance the pull of much bigger chest and shoulder muscles. If the chest and shoulder muscles get too tight, the rotator cuff muscles cannot stabilise the shoulder and this can lead to a rotator cuff strain.

The rotator cuff muscles, which lie close to the shoulder joint, have to counter balance the pull of much bigger chest and shoulder muscles (Ilustration: Mitrarun Haldar)

The cure – stretch and strengthen

•Get moving: Get up from your desk every half hour and walk. Even 10 steps will do. Remember you are not a potted plant!

•Stretch your chest: Stand in a doorway, put both your arms on the doorway and push your body forward without moving your feet.

Stand in a doorway and do these chest stretches (Illustration: Mitrarun Haldar)

•Sit on your chair and lean back over the back of the chair. Please make sure you don’t topple over!!

Sit on your chair and lean back over the back of the chair (Illustration: Mitrarun Haldar)

•Strengthen the rotator cuff muscles : Stand against a door frame, bend your elbow 90 degrees and stick it tight against your side. Now move the hand away from the body by pressing the back of the hand into the door frame. Make sure the elbow does not move. Hold this position for five seconds, repeat ten times, twice a day.

To strengthen rotator cuff muscles, hold this position for five seconds, repeat ten times, twice a day (Illustration: Mitrarun Haldar)

•Strengthen your mid back : Stand in a corner, elbows level with your shoulders, now push the elbows forcefully into the wall. Try and pinch your shoulder blades together. Hold for a count of 10. Do this three to four times in a day.

The next column is going to be a special one as it focuses on a condition that seems to be affecting more and more young women. Watch this space!

Kamal Singh CSCS is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with a coaching experience of 15 years. He specialises in post rehabilitation training and has worked with some of the biggest names in the corporate and sports world. Kamal was picked by Men’s Health magazine as one of India’s Top personal trainers.

This is a fortnightly column. The next edition will appear on October 21.

From HT Brunch, October 7, 2018

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