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Frozen Shoulder, Rotator Cuff Pain, and More!

Frozen shoulder is a mild sounding name for a seriously painful condition that prevents your shoulder and arm from moving. Muscles in your entire shoulder are responsible for frozen shoulder and rotator cuff injuries. Each needs to be treated for relief, and each impacts the others so it’s important to treat all of them.

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Last month I showed you how to do the treatment for the Infraspinatus muscle in the back of your shoulder. This month we’ll talk about two muscles in your chest that prevent your arm from going back.

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Muscles that Cause Frozen Shoulder and Rotator Cuff Injuries

The muscles are your Pectoralis Minor and Pectoralis Major which are on the front of your shoulder. If you put your hand on your chest as shown, you are right on top of both muscles.  You can also move your hand down a bit to treat the rest of the two muscles.

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The deeper muscle is your Pectoralis Minor which goes from your ribs up to the top of your shoulder. This muscle pulls your shoulder forward and causes your back to round. When it is in spasm you have poor posture and can’t bring your shoulder back.

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The surface muscle is your Pectoralis Major which goes from your chest bone (sternum) to your upper arm. When this muscle contracts normally you bring your arm in toward your trunk, &/or across the front of your body. If it is in spasm you can’t bring your arm out away from your body.

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You can see how these two muscles will cause frozen shoulder by holding your arm tight to your body.

Since they both move your shoulder and arm, while they aren’t technically rotator cuff muscles, they impact your rotator cuff.

Treatment for Frozen Shoulder and Rotator Cuff Injury

Place your opposite hand onto your chest as shown.  For example, if you are treating your left shoulder you will put your right hand on the bottom. Press your fingertips into your chest and place your left hand on top of your right hand.  Press into the muscles with both hands to add strength to the movement.

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If you don’t feel the tender point at first, just move your fingertips around and keep pressing.  When you hit a sore point you are on top of the spasm. Hold the pressure for 30 seconds and repeat. Do this 2-3 times, and then look for another tender point.

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It is most beneficial if you combine this treatment with the treatment for the Infraspinatus that was shown previously.

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There are so many shoulder treatments involved in the release of frozen shoulder and rotator cuff injuries that I can’t show all of them. If you suffer from shoulder pain or limited flexibility, I suggest you look at my book Treat Yourself to Pain-Free Living.

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