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Help save your shoulders

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It is common to observe that some of the most important shoulder muscles are not usually included in the average strength training routine, and the particular set of muscles I am referring to is the rotator cuff (comprised of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis). These muscles assist in production of external and internal rotation of the shoulder, and I find most people just do these exercises because they heard that they are good for the shoulder, but aren't really sure why. Let’s see if we can further investigate the function of the rotator cuff and its actions at the shoulder joint, but before we do so we need to understand the concept of joint “glide.”

With every large joint motion there are also small motions that must occur within the joint itself for it to be healthy, and these are usually referred to as glides. In order to understand the concept of glides think about what happens if you were to kick a ball on the ground. It rolls right? And since we consider the shoulder to be a ball and socket joint, what prevents the ball from just rolling right off the surface of the socket and running into the bone above during overhead arm movement? If you guessed the rotator cuff prevents this you are 100% correct. (FYI: the socket of the shoulder is more like the flat surface of a golf tee than a socket)

To fully understand this nature of the rotator cuff imagine a different scenario where you just happen to have a wheelbarrow and a treadmill. If you push the wheelbarrow across the floor the wheel of the wheelbarrow rolls across the room like the ball you kicked above did. However, if you walk with the wheelbarrow on the moving treadmill the wheel rolls in place. The opposing motion of the treadmill belt is similar to how a glide functions in the shoulder. The rotator cuff provides an opposing force to the ball of the shoulder during overhead activities preventing any linear rolling motion on the socket’s flat surface. Thus, without a strong rotator cuff to counteract the stronger surrounding shoulder musculature you may perhaps find that pain is associated with attempts to lift your arms up to exercise, or with any other overhead activity for that matter, due to the ball of the shoulder not staying in place and rolling into the bone above the joint pinching, irritating, and even tearing the tendon of the supraspinatus (impingement syndrome).

In conclusion it is sometimes important to understand the mechanics of a joint to know exactly why you are doing an exercise, rather than for just the sake of doing it. Since the shoulder is such an unstable joint due to its increased mobility it is a good idea to perform external and internal rotation 2-3 times per week as a preventative measure for potential shoulder pain and impingement. Keep in mind it is always important to do these exercises with a manageable weight and with good form to ensure proper strengthening. The rotator cuff muscles are by no means heavy movers, so you don't usually need more than 10lbs to feel a burn after 2-3 of sets of 10-15 repetitions!

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Creator: jswanz1
Category: Strength Training
Posted: 1/31/2008

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