Shoulder Pain? Could it Be From Your Back?

https://youtu.be/s5cVc6IBJ5M

Shoulder pain is a common complaint, and can have many causes. While it's often due to issues with the shoulder, such as rotator cuff tears or arthritis, sometimes the problem's source is your back. If you've been struggling with shoulder pain that hasn't responded to treatment, it's worth checking out whether your back might be contributing to the issue. PHYSICAL THERAPY care can help correct alignment problems in the spine that might be causing or exacerbating shoulder pain.

More and More, over this past year, I have found a specific lower back issue that is causing shoulder pain.

Now you may be asking yourself am I crazy? Those who know me may think that is so much true but this is actually based on pure science.

The human body is an amazing tool. It is an amazing tool because there are so many systems and functions that happen with precise timing that allow the body to do amazing things. In the musculoskeletal system, everything starts at the spine. The spine has three main curves. The two inward curves are called lordosis or lordotic the outward curve is called kyphosis or kyphotic. The curvature of the spine allows the body to bear a tremendous amount of weight and to be able to accelerate and decelerate in the blink of an eye.

So cutting to the chase we are sitting as a society. And since COVID-19 we're doing a lot of sitting in uncomfortable chairs in our house while working. Sitting is the root of all evil for backs. With prolonged sitting the lordotic curve in our lumbar spine begins to round. More importantly, the lumbar levels four and five are the ones that really round when we are sitting. What this does is it causes the body to go into DEFCON one. We have two major vertebrae that are not in the correct alignment and all of the muscles of the pelvis and believe her not shoulder girdle go into DEFCON want to keep that spine aligned.

So how does this affect your shoulder question very simple the large latissimus dorsi muscle which attaches essentially from the bottom of your shoulder blade to the top of your pelvis along the rib cage now becomes prominent and stabilizes the lumbar spine. It's my opinion now that the latissimus dorsi being a DEFCON one will pull the shoulder blade in a position that actually causes shoulder impingement by simply being an emergency condition to stabilize the lumbar spine.

So what I have discovered on a few patients in varying age groups is helping vertebrae lumbars four and five to move back to the proper position and getting the glutes to turn on will have an instant range of motion results for your shoulder. If you don't believe me check out this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/s5cVc6IBJ5M

So if you're having long-standing shoulder pain and a twinge in your back every so often there is a very good chance that they are related.