You're cheating, part 1
Corrections for shoulder pulleys
This is not medical advice.
I keep getting compliments about this shirt that my wife suggested. But I feel like a seedy Charlie Sheen character. My teenager just found out about Two and Half Men, and thinks it is the most hilarious thing he’s ever seen. Maybe not the best roll models. Back in the day, my parents didn’t like me watching Three’s Company. How mild that seems now, although I don’t remember or understand any of the innuendos.
And you treat your home exercises like Charlie’s character treats women; rushing too fast, just want to get it done, and move on to the next one. Shoulder pulleys can be a great home exercise to improve shoulder function. But they can also be used incorrectly, and make things worse. Above is a picture of a frequent pattern that I see.
That is a picture of shoulder elevation, or a shoulder shrug, with very little rotation. The shoulder is a ball in a socket. It needs to rotate. When we have pain, weakness, and/or scar tissue, we cheat by elevating.
Below is how it should look. Easier said than done though. If you can do that, you wouldn’t have the problem in the first place.
In very difficult shoulder stretching cases, I will have patient’s lie down and stretch. Part of the problem with the pulleys is that gravity is altering the mechanics the entire time. Stretching while lying down improves the quality. After 90 degrees of stretching, gravity assists the process.
The Dead Hang
The picture below is probably the most successful application of the pulleys. I can’t tell you what weight to use specifically. I will tell you my patients start with 5 pounds, and rarely go past 10 pounds. It depends on what other factors or injuries are involved. If you have been cleared for pulleys by your doctor or therapist, some of these options may work for you.
You probably have this problem also;
