Arlington Athletics

Dr. Corey Hoffner explains exercises that may help control shoulder pain caused by external rotation and other shoulder motions, too (YouTube@drchoffnerptsc). Pain with external rotation of the shoulder likely means that the shoulder joint is compressed, and that the rotator cuff is not adequately controlling the multi-dimensional movement of the shoulder (external rotation, internal rotation, flexion, and extension of the shoulder). Decompressing a shoulder joint is defined as re-establishing a position of the upper arm connection to the shoulder blade in the safe and instant center position, which provides a shoulder joint condition that hopefully becomes pain free. The rotator cuff consists of four small muscles (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, subscapularis) that are involved (along with larger muscles: biceps, triceps, and deltoids) with the connection of the arm (humerus) to the shoulder blade (scapula). The main function of the rotator cuff muscles is to keep the up...

Working to avoid excessive motion (off-axis) in the shoulder joint by activating the infraspinatus and teres minor muscle to keep an instant center in the joint. Efforts to develop "boulder shoulders" can damage the rotator cuff -- especially the supraspinatus muscle. The rotator cuff muscles help keep the humerus (upper arm bone) in the the proper place in the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint).  Actions controlling the humerus include abduction (raising the arm), adduction (lowering the arm, think lat pulldown), horizontal adduction (think bench press, chest pulley flys), extension (think close-grip lat pulldown or straight arm triceps pressdown), flexion (think front raise), horizontal abduction (think posterior deltoid machine),  external rotation (see video), and internal rotation (deduce opposite of external rotation in video). There are three groups of muscles that provide healthy, pain free, and functional motion of the arms and shoulder when the force tensio...