LIFESTYLE NEWS - Exercise is one of the ways to improve your physical well being and it aids in great measure to get rid of ailments, aches and pains. Follow the exercise programme provided by the biokineticists at Anine van der Westhuizen Biokineticist in George and feel the difference. 

This week biokineticist Lana Laubscher continues her advice on shoulder health.Setting or positioning the shoulder blade or scapula correctly not only helps improve shoulder pain and movement but also helps reduce tension and pain in the neck.

The shoulder blade is attached to the skeleton via the collar bone at the sternum (breastbone).

Some functions of the shoulder blade are:
• To provide a stable base for the shoulder socket, improving efficiency of the rotator cuff muscles (small stabilising muscles inside the shoulder that hold the humerus in its socket). It also provides a stable base for the cervical spine (neck) to give optimum position and range of movement;

•To rotate the glenoid (shoulder socket) laterally, improving the efficiency of the deltoid muscle throughout shoulder elevation;

•To prevent impingement by lateral rotation - upwardly rotating the glenoid;

• To reduce stress on the static restraints. They prevent instability by orienting the glenoid during different planes of motion.

When positioning the shoulder in a neutral position, you are trying to achieve an upward rotation of the glenoid (shoulder socket) that the ball of the humerus sits in.

To achieve this neutral position:
•Correct your posture, lifting the breast bone upwards to open the chest (push your chest out slightly);

•Lift the tip of your shoulder up and out (backward) as if rolling it over your shoulder and backwards;

•Draw the middle part of the shoulder blade downwards so the lower angle rotates outwards.

It is difficult to achieve this position if you don't know what it should look or feel like. It is advised that you consult a professional to be sure you achieve the correct neutral position. Remember, you should not feel tension in the neck when you do this setting.

Learning how to do this will be helpful with any movement of the arm and will help reduce strain on the shoulder tissues.

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