pinching of the right rear shoulder

Hello All,

Thank you for taking the time to review this post.

I've been working through the thoracic bridge stretch series for about 7 weeks now.  I have been having an issue with the elevated thoracic bridge holds, elevated thoracic bridge push ups, and the hand shoulder flexion press (I can't even do one elevated thoracic bridge tap without slamming my head to the ground, so I stopped trying until I build more strength).  When I push my chest forward in the top of the position, I get a pinching sensation in my right rear shoulder.  I can do the hold for about 20-40 seconds before the pinching becomes pain.  The pinching is present in the other two exercises as well.  I finish the rest of the series, but I can feel a slight numbness in the affected area for as much as a few hours after, but it usually subsides.

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this, what may be the possible cause, the affected muscles and tendons, and if they have any suggestions as to how to progress from this.

Thank you again for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Fred

Hey Godofredo, your situation it is pretty common in the case of the tight anterior capsule. I suggest to stay away from specific bridge work and spend 5-10 minutes a day doing the elevated cat position with one arm at time while the other one helps to support the body weight. it works also very well before the specific bridge work.

@Leigh Kettle has a very good improvement on shoulder joint with this work.

@Alessandro Mainente Thank you!  I will start doing this right away.

For how long do you suggest I do this before I try specific bridge work again.

On 22/04/2017 at 2:40 AM, Godofredo C Gatus II said:

@Alessandro Mainente Thank you!  I will start doing this right away.

For how long do you suggest I do this before I try specific bridge work again.

Hey godofredo

Sorry I've only just seen this post

every day I've been doing single arm elevated cat stretch for 1 min at at time (each arm)  for around 5 times a day (so 5mins each arm per day )

ive recently adjusted my arm position  to around 45 degrees to the body on Alex advise to further help me with my flexion on all shoulder flexion exercises and I will continue with these before I will return to getting closer to shoulder width as my flexion improves further 

hope this helps 

Greetings Leigh,

Thank you for your response.  It is greatly appreciated.

That sounds like a very helpful modification, and I think will be beneficial in my pursuit of ideal shoulder flexion.  I will be implementing immediately.

I have some additional questions:

  Do you rotate the shoulder when executing the single arm elevated cat stretch?

  If so, do you internally or externally rotate?

  Do you pull the scapula toward the spine when executing this stretch?

  What are the orientation of your hands, palms facing down/up, or palms facing each other?

  What are your thoughts on using traction with a light band when doing this stretch?

I'm sorry for the barrage of questions.

Thank you again!

20 hours ago, Godofredo C Gatus II said:

 

Hey godofredo no worries anytime 

I must stress I am not the best person to be answering this but I will try and give you some advice  but I'd like clarification from the coaches which hopefully they will Chip in and do for us 

20 hours ago, Godofredo C Gatus II said:

 

  Do you rotate the shoulder when executing the single arm elevated cat stretch?

i try to keep it neutral with no rotation as ive never been advised to do anything other than that 

20 hours ago, Godofredo C Gatus II said:

 

  Do you pull the scapula toward the spine when executing this stretch?

 

Again I dont make any conceivable effort to do either retraction or protraction. If anything I'd say to protract a little 

20 hours ago, Godofredo C Gatus II said:

What are the orientation of your hands, palms facing down/up, or palms facing each other?

My hands are always palm down as In the TB stretch series 

20 hours ago, Godofredo C Gatus II said:

 

  What are your thoughts on using traction with a light band when doing this stretch?

I'm sorry for the barrage of questions.

 

I would say bodyweight is fine to begin with especially if you are already concerned about pain. Best to make slow and steady progress than try something that may be too much at this stage 

hope this helps my friend 

Leigh 

Hi again Leigh,

Thank you again for your feedback.  It is greatly appreciated.  Hopefully the coaches will also pass on their thoughts on the subject as well.

I tried out the 45 degree modification on the elevated cat stretch.  I'm not feeling any pinching of the posterior shoulder, so that's good.

In regards to the modification, I do feel more stretch in the pectoralis minor which I assume is the main purpose of the modification, but I also feel a lot of stretch and tension in the biceps particularly the brachialis.  I was wondering what your experience is like, and if I need to make any additional modifications to target specific areas.

Gratefully yours,

Fred

Hi @Godofredo C Gatus II,

You can always modify and scale down the stretches wherein its painfree and just resume the required range of motion as you get stronger/better at the stretch.  

Hey godofredo honestly no worries anytime

Good to hear that the modification creates no pinching this is what you are after ultimately as Leo stated , start in the pain free range and you can always progress from there .

as far as feeling it in your elbows coach is very clear that you shouldn't be feeling it in there (same especially for shoulder extension )and especially not pain .are you feeling pain or just the tension??. I do feel a stretch which I guess comes with locking the  elbow so this is expected  to a degree I would say as long as you always work in the range where there is  no pain so this may mean For now supporting the stretch by placing the opposite hand on the floor with as much support to negate the pain (if there is any)!in the elbow 

hope this helps 

leigh 

Also godofredo

do you feel this same pinching when doing star jumps. I tend to get a little pinching when I do a full star jump at the top position where my hands meet at the top 

Leigh