Ladies,
Have you ever woken up one morning with a sharp pain in your shoulder every time you try to lift it?
You try to reach overhead and… ouch!
You try to put on a shirt… no way!
You try to lift the coffee pot… forget about it!
While most doctors and therapists will jump to the conclusion that you have an issue with your rotator cuff, I have actually seen something completely different over the last 13 years.
In fact, when many professionals are certain that the rotator cuff is the primary cause of what you are experiencing, I have seen that the rotator cuff is often 100% fine.
Instead, what I see more times than not is there is another group of muscles that is wreaking havoc on your shoulder.
What muscles are these??
The muscles that control your shoulder blade, also known as scapular muscles.
See, your shoulder blade is completely controlled by a number of muscles to make sure it is positioned correctly and can move properly. However, if these shoulder blade muscles aren’t working well, the shoulder blade won’t be positioned properly and won’t be able to move as it is supposed to.
This is a huge deal because every time you move your arm, your shoulder blade should also move. If it is not able to move, the muscles that move your arm may start to get pinched, leading to a sharp pain sensation.
Furthermore, the muscles of your arm may also start to overwork, causing them to become more dysfunctional, and as a result more painful.
Fortunately, once this is understood, then the solution is relatively straightforward–get the muscles that control the shoulder blade stronger and functioning better.
Once those muscles start working properly and have the strength to do the tasks you ask of them, the rotator cuff muscles and other muscles of your arm and shoulder can stop being harassed and start healing and feeling better.
What’s crazy is how quickly I have seen this change take place for my clients–sometimes in as little as 60 minutes!
But here’s the key–you can’t just do any type of strengthening exercises to get these muscles working better. In fact, in over 13 years working with women to help them with issues like these, there is only one thing I have seen to really make a difference, and that is Muscle Activation Techniques® followed up with controlled strength training.
Muscle Activation Techniques®, also known as MAT®, is a hands-on process that identifies where in your body you have inhibited muscles–or muscles that aren’t working properly–and gets those muscles working better.
In the case of the shoulder, I have consistently seen that when the shoulder blade muscles are inhibited, the shoulder becomes painful. Likewise, once the shoulder blade muscles get worked on with MAT®, the shoulder blade moves more freely, the muscles are stronger and functioning better, and the shoulder and arm can move much easier, often with very little or no pain.
If you are in the Chicago area, or are willing to travel to the Chicago area, I would love to see you on my MAT® table! All you have to do to schedule yourself for your initial consultation and assessment is click here and book the time that works best for you.
Remember, the area of your body that is hurting is rarely where the issue actually is. Too often I see that what has been labeled a rotator cuff issue actually has nothing to do with the rotator cuff at all and instead is strictly an issue of the shoulder blade muscles.
By getting those inhibited shoulder blade muscles working better with MAT® and the following that work up with specific strengthening exercises, I have seen many ladies’ shoulder issues all but disappear in as little as 60 minutes.
I’d love to see you on my MAT® soon! Click here to get started.
In strength and health,
Julie
Julie Cates is an experienced, certified, and insured National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Certified Personal Trainer and mastery level Muscle Activation Techniques® (MAT®) Rx Specialist (MATRx). She is also one of the few practitioners worldwide certified in the MAT® Athlete process.
She is one of 88 certified mastery level Resistance Training Specialists® (RTSm) in the world. This combination makes her style of training impactful and still preventative and restorative of joint and muscle issues and pain that are common with exercise.
Julie specializes in working with women 50 and over. Specifically, her main focus is working with women with bone density loss, muscle loss, Osteopenia, and Osteoporosis.
Julie has incredible experience working with brand new exercisers. Very specific types and styles of exercises are needed for restoring and maintaining bone density, and Julie guides her clients through these in a pain-free way.
She is also well experienced in helping women exercise even with various joint, bone, systemic, and neurological diagnoses. Julie is definitely your go-to personal trainer for women with Osteoporosis!
She sees clients out of her studio, Muscle Activation Schaumburg, in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.