The path to elite function
CrossFit Newport Beach 873 Production Place Newport Beach, CA 92663 February 18th, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM This introductory mini-clinic details the 3 Primary SMR exercises and the relevant Secondary and Extended regions from the Alexander Method of SMR. Learn strategies and techniques for addressing soft-tissue restrictions like trigger points [...]
Shoulder Problems?
Starting this week, we are taking requests for what YOU want to see described in words and shown in video. Take your pick from whatever area of the body most interests you…do you have pain following workouts in your IT Bands? Does your knee dip inwards when you squat deep (with or without pain)? Do you have trouble reaching all the way overhead without tilting your hips or arching your back?
Pick the area of the body that troubles you, and Jeff will setup a sample program of SMR and corrective functional exercise strategies in keeping with the CrossFit method. We want to hear from you, so leave your comments below.
January 6, 2010 at 6:58 pm
I’ve been having some pain in the shoulder, and neck. This usually occurs after a good butterfly kipping pullup workout. This is only in the right shoulder. Also looking for some good release at the hip flexor region. Thanks
January 7, 2010 at 1:56 am
Myles, if you have our SMR Coaches Clinic book, go to the table of contents and look up the TP Butterfly, Infraspinatus Rotations and Shrugs, the Levator Bridge, the Levator Press, and the Neck Nods. Do them IN THAT ORDER every single day until you can’t find anymore knots in those muscles (it’ll take at least a few weeks to clear these guys). You should see your shoulder and neck discomfort decrease as the knots decrease and eventually you need minor maintenance to keep these muscles clear.
For your hip flexors, check out movements 1, 2, & 3 in Chapter 2, and movements 4, 5, & 9 in Chapter 3…Good luck!!! (let us know how you’re doing every so often)
January 10, 2010 at 8:10 pm
Hey Jeff,
I have chronic pain along my left clavicle, both above and below it. It becomes especially acute after cleaning and jerking or doing lots of push presses with heavy loads.
I also have a bulging disk in my back, as I mentioned. Just thought I’d mention it here in case someone else has the same issue. It’s more of an annoyance than painful, but it gets irritated under the exact same conditions as above–especially when I hyperextend my back trying to get a heavy jerk up.
January 27, 2010 at 2:34 pm
Hey Franklin,
It sounds like you’re a wreck! (lol) All kidding aside, there are a few things we need to be careful of as you attempt to fix this issue:
1. Check with a licensed therapist to make sure your issue isn’t something needing professional attention.
2. Once you’ve been cleared by someone that knows better and can physically check you out, if you begin to feel WORSE during your self-care experiment, STOP what you’re doing and hire a professional massage therapist, chiropractor, ART practitioner, etc.
3. If you are getting better range of motion (ROM) when you do the SMR exercises, even if some of your muscles are pretty darned sensitive at first, keep doing the exercises every day. Mind any increases in inflammation or decreases in ROM, because that is your cue to call a professional for their assistance.
Now on to the suggestions…
Your pec major and trapezius are the largest muscles that attach to your clavicle, so start there. Stretch them EVERY DAY! Use SMR exercises 2, 3, 7 & 8 in Chapter 4 for the Chest, Shoulder, Upper Back & Neck in our Coaches Clinic Workbook (can be found at http://www.networkfitness.com/SMR). Do 2 of them every day. Pick one for the chest, and one for the traps (you hit your traps when you work on your supraspinatus or your levator scapula, which exercises 7 & 8 talk about addressing).
I should mention that you have a small muscle called the subclavius that runs all along the underside of your clavicle from your sternum towards the AC joint. You might be surprised just how tight that little guy is. You can address this with either your fingers or the massage ball & block.
Above your clavicle you have the platysma muscle which is what you flex to make your neck look like a turtle’s. It can develop tight strands of muscle fibers that you work out by rolling the skin and muscle between your thumb and fingers. Feel things in there that feel like bb’s? There aren’t supposed to be any “bb’s” in your neck.
Deeper than the platysma, and attached to your first rib (under your collar bone), you have your anterior and medial scalene muscles. Between them and your platysma is the sternocleidomastoid (SCM–the v-shaped muscle that runs from your sternum and clavicle all along the side of your neck and attaches to the base of your skull just behind your ear). You address the scalenes and SCM with exercise 14 in Chapter 4 of the workbook. Do this EVERY DAY, preferably several times a day. The SCM isn’t as big as the traps, but it is more likely to be shortened too much to allow full function at the neck and shoulders. Be VERY CAREFUL when addressing the more anterior portions of both the SCM and the scalenes. I wouldn’t want you damaging your larynx while attempting to work out a few muscular knots. When in doubt, get it checked out!
Good luck, and keep us posted!