Question
QUESTION: First of all I would personally like to thank you for being a volunteer, and help people. I really appreciate your efforts and I am sure many others do as well. Moreover, I have a issue with my left shoulder. I included a youtube video link for specifically which movement I have a problem with (the link is below the question. When ever I rotate my left shoulder externally at 90 degrees I hear a clicking sound on top of my shoulder near the acromion bone. and I feel my left scapula fighting / stuck in my back near my ribs the more I rotate backwards. This does not happen with my right shoulder, no issues at all with my right shoulder. Moreover also my left posterior deltoid is a little sore and my left upper trapezius also is a bit sore, when I do that left shoulder external rotation at 90 degrees. Also when I raise my hands overhead move them back I feel my left scapula is stuck as well. And sometimes it makes noises.I just want to know how to fix this problem and which muscles i need to strengthen or stretch, to get rid of the problem. I honestly tried to gather as much information through youtube, online health articles and as well biodigital human explorer to tell you the specific muscles and bones with the problem. I honestly would love your reply back please and thank you so much.

Link for video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g70xInaP5H4

ANSWER: Hello Ali,

First, thank you for your very precise and clear question.  It does make it a lot easier to answer. And a video to boot!  I appreciate it.

Okay, so there are a number of different reasons why your shoulder may be functioning the way it is.  In my experience you can fix it by releasing certain muscle groups in your shoulder girdle that have become inappropriately tight.

I talk about this in greater detail on my completely free website,
Do-It-Yourself-Joint-Pain-Relief, http://www.do-it-yourself-joint-pain-relief.com/
but basically if you think of all the muscles in your body like the rigging (ropes) on a big old-fashioned sailboat you can imagine that if some of the ropes (muscles) became inappropriately tight, it would begin to throw off the proper functioning of your structure.

Modern living, exercise, aging, etc. shortens and tightens tissue.  Ninety-five percent of the time it is the shortening and tightening of tissue around joints that causes our structural issues.

I would guess that there are a few muscle groups that are the main culprits in causing your shoulder issues, but ultimately you have to feel around and release the inappropriate tissue everywhere you can in that shoulder girdle so you have a stable release.

I'm going to recommend you go to my Shoulder Joint Pain Relief page (it's free),
http://www.do-it-yourself-joint-pain-relief.com/shoulder-joint-pain-relief.html
and follow-along with the videos that show you how to fix yourself.

I show you in the videos, but do make sure you do a good job on your

pectoralis minor,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pectoralis_minor_muscle
infraspinatus,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infraspinatus_muscle
subscapularis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subscapularis_muscle
trees major and minor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teres_major_muscle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teres_minor_muscle
serratus anterior (don't miss this one)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serratus_anterior_muscle

I do hope this proves helpful.  And thank you again for being so clear with your question.

All the best,

Gary Crowley

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------


Muscle issues  

Pictures   QUESTION: Amazing website truly amazing, wow great advice and knowledge, I truly admire your efforts and help, its very rare meeting a nice and caring person like you. And Gary Im sorry for not including this information earlier, i am 21 years male old, and this issue has initially started with severe pain but ever since has settled down. Now it is very occasional but it is still there during these type of movements mentioned. It likely occurred due to me skipping rope and ignored my pain in my left shoulder and also regular continuous callisthenics (pull ups,push ups,etc) and going through pain. And it has been approximately 4 months since the pain initially started but has reduced but is still there, especially during these type of movements. And moreover the sound happens before it reaches the 90 degree mark. I would say it happens around at 45 degrees is when the clicking/noise happens. but I was exercising 4 months back, but had to stop due to this problem. And Gary I was wondering why exactly the following happens to me as well, I can get my hands in a overhead position but I notice that I have a hard time reaching really high with my left shoulder when I do overhead reaches for example I find it  hard  to reach high enough get my left shoulder to touch my ear (like that girl in that picture), and when my shoulder is about to reach the position like that girl, i hear my scapula making sounds I think its rubbing with my ribs the sound also happens when I relax my left shoulder and put it down. Also when I used to hang on a pull up bar and relax my body the same thing happened to my left shoulder and the scapula made those noises on my ribs. but for my right shoulder I have no problems whatsoever. And for shoulder pinches the i have a hard time with my left side of my upper body is a bit more tensed and difficult to do this exercise, and I feel tense near my scapula and the circled area. As well I feel tight/tense on the side of my body I circled that as well. and my left shoulder sits lower and is a bit uncomfortable. while my right shoulder sits higher and is more comfortable and is just fine and sits high and this exercise isn't hard for my right shoulder., I used paint to edit some pictures and try to be more specific to show what the problem is. I have visited 2 different physiotherapists as recommended by my doctors, the physiotherapists truly didn't listen to what I had to say, and just put those electro pads/ ice/hot packs on me and they didn't help the pain at all, and didn't address the issue. I really hope you can help me out and I really do appreciate your time and efforts. I'll wait for your reply back and thanks again.

Answer
Hello Ali,

I still think the feeling you have in the area of the left most circle on your diagram has to do with your
teres major, teres minor, subscapularis,  AND very important your serratus anterior.  I would still
recommend you do my techniques on my Shoulder Joint Pain Relief page.  Have you done any
of the techniques, yet?
I would now also recommend you visit my Middle Back Pain Relief page for the areas you have
circled close to the spine in the diagram.
http://www.do-it-yourself-joint-pain-relief.com/middle-back-pain-relief.html

I hope this helps.

Best,
Gary Crowley
http://www.do-it-yourself-joint-pain-relief.com/