Need to build arm strength to throw a baseball and football with my kids.i am starting to get arthritis in my right shoulder

Hi Shane,

is this ‘getting arthritis’ your own diagnosis? Is it another way of saying that your right shoulder is beginning to hurt more and more often? You are a trainer; so I won’t bore you with the ‘get the doctor to check it out’. You know that yourself.

What I am wondering is whether you are starting to feel the onset of a rotator cuff problem. Having had this myself, I know that it initially is more like a bother and then turns into a low-level ache that does not want to go away.

I would put myself on a regimen of rotator cuff and shoulder girdle strengthening. Since it is often difficult so assess ourselves, you may also check with a good physical therapist or a chiropractor for an independent evaluation.

And if the arthritis assessment is correct, it is still my recommendation because you need to keep the foundation strong to protect the joints as much as possible.

Hope you’ll find a way to throw all those balls with the little guys.
Karin Singleton
www.meltnc.com

what is your current training regimen?

Hey Shane….

Man, isnt it a brutal day when it hits us that we are no longer hitting the gym to try look a certain way, rather just to keep up with the younger generation? I know personally that the first time I had to think twice about bending over just because I was stiff, I heard echoes from all of my older clients telling me that, “One day it will all catch up with you.” What they meant is all the hours on the treadmill, and all the thousands of pounds lifted for thousands of repetitions will add up and one day your body will revolt and scream loudly “NO MORE!” I know exactly what it feels like to walk into a gym and know what it feels like to bench press with the best of anyone in the gym, but not be able to do it because the shoulder ain’t workin. But I also know there is an answer.

One of the great things about exercise as a science is that it is constantly evolving. With that being said, gone are the day’s when we thought that each joint is exclusive to itself. What happens at your toe very easily could effect what happens at your shoulder. With that being said in regards to your shoulder, we need to look at the big picture and address all the parts that could make up the whole. Meaning ASSESS..ASSESS…ASSSESS.

There are many forms of arthritis and if you have been diagnosed then you will understand it better than I. Being that you are in the athletic population, there are many that suffer from arthritis as a result from years of wear and tear. The inflammatory response of joints being un-aligned for many moon results in pain. The keyword in that sentence is”un-aligned.”

I repeat un-aligned. One more time….UN-ALIGNED.

Whomever created our body was really smart and likely female. I say this because it is so well organized (at least in my house, my wife is the one who has everything where it needs to go!) Our bodies are designed to have a skeletal system that stacks bones on top of joints that should be capable of standing for hours without any kind of pain. Our muscles should connect these bones and joints to allow effortless movement capable of 150 years. Those muscles are enveloped by fascia that lets them slide and glide across one another so that we can move from here to there easily. The fascia is really the centerpiece of our joint health.

Now, if I were you, I would get it out of my head that the shoulder is the source of your problems. It isnt…its where you feel pain, but painful joints are typically like the meat in a sandwich of dysfunctional joints. Try a couple quick assessments to see if there are other joints affect this are. First, just stand in front of a mirror. If you can see more than your first knuckle, your arm is twisting a little too much in its socket.Second, have someone take a photo of your side. If your collarbone and the big notch in your neck dont line up, your shoulder blades tilt downward too much.

Both things can indicate that muscles aren’t lined up and balanced. Corrective exercise coupled with foam rolling and flexibility can roll your shoulder back in place and properly position your scapula once again.

Fix that that you will be throwing once again with the best of them.

Hope this helps,

Jeremy