Tight shoulders!

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eep223
eep223 Posts: 624 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi folks. As I've been getting back in exercise and weights in particular, I'm noticing how extremely tight my shoulders have gotten over the past couple of years. I have big muscle knots in my right shoulder in particular (mouse arm). Any tips for loosening up and/or exercising with proper form and alignment so that I don't hurt myself?

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  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
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    Foam rolling, stretching. Deep tissue massage.
    I usually struggle to really get deep enough to do much on my own, so I opt for a massage every 1-2 weeks.
  • eep223
    eep223 Posts: 624 Member
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    Regular massages aren't in my budget, unfortunately (I go more like once a year). How do you use your foam roller on your shoulder? I do it for my legs, but haven't tried that.
  • H_Ock12
    H_Ock12 Posts: 1,152 Member
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    I have a spiky massage ball that I purchased off of Amazon for pretty cheap...I've found it very help for the shoulder and back knots. It's easier to position in localized areas with bones than the large foam roller. Although I do foam roll my entire back regularly.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,209 Member
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    Do you mean this area?

    6wd2Sb9.jpg

    Try this stretch every hour or 2 for 30 seconds:
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=Y5SAKcsUGXE

    You can massage the knots with your fingers, or use a curved self-massaging stick, like this: https://amazon.com/Body-Back-Companys-Trigger-Therapy/dp/B0006VJ6TO
    Or just steal someone's cane and use that. B)

    Proper exercise form? Hire a good trainer, or research tutorials on youtube, and video yourself lifting. Follow a proven program too, don't do your own thing.

    Prevention? Practice good posture all day. If you usually lift & carry things with your right arm, use your left more. :+1:
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    edited September 2017
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    Lacrosse balls are good for massaging smaller spots. Lie on the ball and roll around on the tight spot. Hurts so good.

    If it's in the front of the shoulder, at the brachial plexus tie-in, I sink my shoulder socket into the end of the bar on the Smith machine. Move arm up and down. Breaks that tightness up well.
  • eep223
    eep223 Posts: 624 Member
    edited September 2017
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    Cherimoose wrote: »

    Try this stretch every hour or 2 for 30 seconds:
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=Y5SAKcsUGXE

    Whoa, that stretch is hitting it exactly. Thank you so much!

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I use a lacrosse ball on my shoulders. I also do a lot of work that one would do in physical thereapy for shoulders as I've had shoulder issues for years...those PT movements really help. I do them before I do anything else at the gym and then face pulls as one of my issues is my shoulders rolling forward due to spending a lot of time sitting at work. I also make sure that for every horizontal push movement I do, I do two pull movements for my back and rear delts.
  • eep223
    eep223 Posts: 624 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I also do a lot of work that one would do in physical thereapy for shoulders as I've had shoulder issues for years...those PT movements really help. I do them before I do anything else at the gym and then face pulls as one of my issues is my shoulders rolling forward due to spending a lot of time sitting at work.

    Thanks, cwolfman13. Do you have any links to what the exercises are?

  • QuikDogs
    QuikDogs Posts: 194 Member
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    MobilityWOD (subscription service but it's pretty inexpensive) has a LOT of shoulder mobility stuff. And ankle. And hip! It's worth the $10, imo. Also, search out sites about Olympic weightlifting (i.e. "weightlifting" to use the proper term). The Olys are all about throwing the weight up over your head and catching it there -- so shoulder mobility is key and those folks know a LOT about it. I started weightlifting a year ago, I came over from powerlifting. My mobility is better than when I was a teenager, and I'm almost 60.

    Rollers and balls can do a bit, but to get real improvement you'll also need to do some basic mobility exercises. That's been my experience, at any rate.

    Good luck!
  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
    edited September 2017
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    eep223 wrote: »
    Regular massages aren't in my budget, unfortunately (I go more like once a year). How do you use your foam roller on your shoulder? I do it for my legs, but haven't tried that.

    I've learned that you can foam roll almost anything lol If you can't hit it with a big roller there are smaller ones, different shapes, lacrosse ball; like others mentioned. I lean against a wall for a lot of things and can get different angles that way.

    I guess I was thinking what I do for my own shoulder issues/poor mobility- while my issues present themselves as shoulder tightness, it's largely because of tight triceps and lats.

    ETA while regular massages may not be in the budget, I think getting one when things are really bad can be a huge help. Then you just have to focus more on maintenance, which is much easier to do on your own than the initial pain party.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    edited September 2017
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    eep223 wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I also do a lot of work that one would do in physical thereapy for shoulders as I've had shoulder issues for years...those PT movements really help. I do them before I do anything else at the gym and then face pulls as one of my issues is my shoulders rolling forward due to spending a lot of time sitting at work.

    Thanks, cwolfman13. Do you have any links to what the exercises are?

    I do most of this throughout the week...certain things I do for my warm-up...some of the things like bicep and triceps and some of the other work is part of my workout and some things I do on different days at home. I do the stretches every day.

    http://orthoinfo.org/PDFs/Rehab_Shoulder_5.pdf
  • eep223
    eep223 Posts: 624 Member
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    Thanks, all!

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