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Shoulder injuries are becoming common injuries in athletics. These
injuries are prevalent in overhead sports, such as baseball, softball,
swimming, and tennis. Sports that involve repetitive movement overhead
calls upon the shoulder and scapular musculature to execute the movement.
Actually the entire body is called upon to execute the movement, but the
focus of this piece will be muscles of the shoulder girdle.
Shoulder injuries such as tears, tendonitis, and dislocations are a result
of overuse, imbalances, and a lack of stabilization amongst the shoulder
and scapular stabilizers. These injuries are occurring at all levels of
athletics, but are becoming common at the youth and high school levels.
This is primarily a result of overuse and a lack of recovery between bouts
of overhead activity. It is not uncommon for baseball pitchers to throw
2-3 consecutive days in tournaments. This is a great deal of volume for
the developing athlete and will lead to an injury if they are not properly
trained to handle this amount of volume.
Many coaches and trainers know exercises to train the rotator cuff (teres
minor, infraspinatus, subscapularis, supraspinatus) which stabilizes the
humerus, but it is very important to also train the scapular stabilizers (pectoralis
minor, serratus anterior, subclavius, levator scapulae, rhomboids,
trapezius). A stable scapula is similar to a foundation for a house. A
solid scapula will allow the entire shoulder girdle to be much stronger
and efficient at reducing and producing force. Remember that force is
easily transferred through a stable joint. An unstable joint will leak
energy and cause undo stress and damage to muscles that should not be
stressed. Force is produced from the ground up and is transferred through
the lower body through the core and finally to the shoulder when
throwing. If one link in the chain is unstable the rest of the chain will
not be as effective as it could be.
The best way to train the shoulder and scapular stabilizers are with
higher rep ranges or longer time under tensions that focus on endurance as
the primary goal. During competition, stabilizers will give out under
conditions of fatigue. This is why it is important to train them in this
manner.
The routine below is an example of how to train these muscles.
1. Perform the exercises continuously in the order listed.
2. Perform each exercise for 30 seconds each; 9 minutes total.
3. Do not use more than 5 lbs. for the entire series. 2.5 lb plates or
soup cans are ideal.
4. Attempt to keep your shoulder blades pinched together for the entire
series. This will help to stabilize the scapula through an isometric
contraction.
5. All exercises are done standing up.
Exercises
1. Shrugs
2. Lateral Raises (thumbs up)
3. Front Raises (thumbs up)
4. Bent Over Lateral Raise (thumbs up)
5. Full Cans/Y's (thumbs up)
6. I's (shoulder extension, thumbs in to thumbs out)
7. Lateral Rotation Raises (thumbs down to thumbs up)
8. Horizontal Bent Fly's (elbows bent at 90-degrees)
9. 90-90 External/Internal Rotation
10. Horizontal Fly's (arms straight, palms down)
11. Horizontal Fly's (arms straight, palms down meet palms up in front)
12. Horizontal Fly's (arms straight, palms up meet palms down in front)
13. Side Upright Row (pull to armpits)
14. Bent Over Rows (pull to hips)
15. Side Upright Row to Press
16. Windmills (arm movement done in a jumping jack)
17. Triceps Extension (arms overhead)
18. Biceps Curl (arms at sides)
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