SHOULDER MOBILITY

Shoulder mobility is taken for granted, and who more than I would know, having suffered due to my negligence. My pain threshold being pretty high, I simply disregarded the fact that we are not meant to live in pain. Simply because that’s the only joint that can pivot a full circle, move in all directions, we think it’s capable of just about anything. The rotator cuff allows your arm to move up/down/sideways and perform all your tasks almost subconsciously. Hence when one area gets affected it seems too trivial and we move on thinking we can bear it.

The working of the shoulder involves the scapula, shoulder blades, clavicle(collarbone) and humerus(upper arm), and all the muscles holding these bones together. The trapezius, the supraspinatus, the infraspinatus, the subscapularis, the rotator cuff and the pectoral muscles are all involved. So as you can see, a small disturbance here can affect so many things. But the human body is trained to override any hiccups and continue working and usually, the brunt is taken by the compensating muscles.

Just as you might tell a smoker that he/she is causing harm to the lungs, a person experiencing any pain should be taught to slow down, rest, repair and allow the body to recover. But we all simply push ahead without care till our body gives up.

I urge everyone reading this, not to be lax about their health. These are simple exercises that you should do to maintain the proper health and mobility of your shoulders. If you have trouble doing any of these, do reach out to your doctor and get a proper treatment done.

Frozen shoulder is just a sign of something worse to come, so do not take it lightly. When the performance of a major muscle group goes down the pressure is put on the smaller muscle groups (the cervical and pectoral), which can be tremendous and can eventually cause irreparable harm. I have suffered through a rotator cuff tear, bursitis, tendonitis, dealignment of the scapula, tear of the pectoral muscles…not really knowing which one led to the other. The pain being so severe that I was unable to even hold a pencil.

This did not happen overnight. Our body does give us signals. I was foolish enough to not pay attention and I suffered. But through that, I woke up to learn more about what real health, nutrition and keeping fit means. It is my endeavour to increase my strength, mobility and flexibility with every passing day. It is with that same panache that I want to make sure that I create this awareness amongst you all.

Take care of your body, nurture it cause that is the only thing that lasts with you till the end.