How to Reduce Shoulder Popping Out of the Socket?

Your shoulder is the most mobile joint in your body, meaning it can move into more positions than any other joint. However, its mobility comes with the price of instability. A partial or full dislocation may occur when the top of the upper arm bone is pulled partially or completely out of the shoulder joint. This may cause numbness, swelling, pain and weakness. Shoulder exercises help treat and prevent dislocations due to weak, inflexible muscles.
Range of Motion
Range of motion, ROM, exercises increase the mobility of the shoulder, allowing it to safely move into more positions. When your shoulder heals from a dislocation a physical therapist works with you to perform ROM exercises. You may use your opposite arm to perform these exercises on yourself if injured or anytime to increase flexibility. An example is the flexion and extension exercise. Sit in a chair and grasp the wrist of your one arm with your opposite hand. Lift your arm straight up by your head and then lower it back down to your side. Repeat 10 times.
Isometrics
Isometric exercises are a gentle method to strengthen your shoulders and other areas of the body. Physical therapists often use isometrics during rehabilitation because they do not require joint movement. You can use isometrics to increase strength when you are not injured too. An example exercise is the isometric shoulder adduction. Stand or sit holding a pillow to your chest with your arms crossed. Hug the pillow and hold it tightly for five seconds. Relax and repeat 10 times. Your shoulder muscles contract without the joints moving. This places less strain on the joints but still strengthens the muscles.
Free Weight Exercises
Exercises with free weights such as dumbbells and exercise tubing strengthen your muscles against the resistance. If your arm is healing from a dislocation your therapist will likely have you perform isometric exercises before using tubing; the goal is to develop enough strength to handle weighted moving exercises without risking re-injuring your shoulder. Weightlifters perform free weight exercise to increase shoulder strength and size. An example is the resisted shoulder flexion. Tie tubing to a door knob, hold the opposite end with your arm at your side facing away from the door and raise your arm straight forward 10 times.
Bodyweight Exercises
Bodyweight exercises for your shoulders, back and chest may help prevent future shoulder dislocations by strengthening the muscles that connect to the shoulder joint. These exercises utilize just the weight of your body. An example exercise to strengthen your latissimus dorsi begins by sitting in a chair. Place your hands on the seat in line with your shoulders and fingers pointing forwards. Lift your body off the seat and hold for five seconds. Repeat 10 times. The latissimus dorsi is the V-shaped muscle in the middle and upper back; it runs under the armpit and connects to the front of the shoulder.

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Posted in: Strength Exercises

What to Know About Nunchunks for Shoulders?

The muscles that comprise your shoulder's rotator cuff, the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis, are responsible for holding this very flexible joint in place. When these muscles are weak, your shoulder can slip out of place, causing it to become weak and unstable. This instability is often treated with exercises to help strengthen your rotator cuff muscles to hold your shoulder in place. The traditional martial arts weapon known as the nunchuck can help strengthen your muscles, but there are things to consider.
Nunchuck Use
The use of the nunchuck requires muscular balance in your shoulder to counteract the centrifugal forces developed by the spinning end of the weapon. The user can hold one end and allow the other end to spin, creating a great deal of speed and force similar to the end of a whip. The weapon was developed in the 1600s on the island of Okinawa after a Japanese occupation. When weapons were declared illegal on the island, martial artists developed the nunchuck, ostensibly as a rice threshing tool, and learned how to use it as a devastating weapon.
Shoulder Instability Treatment
If your shoulder doesn't require surgical intervention, your doctor may send you to a physical therapist to develop an exercise program to help strengthen the muscles of your rotator cuff and shoulder blade. In addition to strengthening your rotator cuff muscles, the exercises help develop shoulder control. The specific exercises prescribed are often tailored to the individual patient and depend on your particular condition, but many of these movements are required to control the nunchuck.
Rehabilitative Exercises For Shoulder Stability
The strengthening exercises prescribed for shoulder instability include movements that mimic the movements necessary to control the nunchuck. These movements include internal and external rotation of the upper arm, flexing and extending your shoulder,and moving your arms away from your body. Using the nunchuck requires all these movements to be performed under control and with a fluid motion. In addition, the spinning of the weapon keeps the muscles of your shoulder under a low level of constant resistance.
Check With Your Doctor First!
Although the movements necessary to control the nunchuck mimic many rehabilitative exercises necessary to strengthen an unstable shoulder, they often go much farther than what your shoulder can handle. One of the benefits of using nunchucks to help improve shoulder stability is that your shoulder must move through a full range of motion to control the weapon. This can be detrimental to a weak or unstable shoulder. While the nunchuck doesn't require a lot of strength to control, it does require a great deal of stability, range of motion and muscular balance in your shoulder. Check with your doctor to determine whether he thinks using nunchucks could help you.

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Posted in: Strength Exercises

Increase Athletic Strength & Power With Catalyst Workouts?

The Catalyst Athletic workout is designed to increase strength and power. It is primarily a weight-training workout program designed to increase strength for athletes who depend on power. While other aspects of fitness are included -- endurance and quickness training among them -- the bulk of your time when engaged in the Catalyst program will build greater strength and explosiveness. Catalyst training is a demanding program that is usually best worked by itself. Trying to combine the program with other fitness work may result in overtraining injuries.
Step 1
Follow the training cycle present on the Catalyst Athletics website. Every Monday, Catalyst Athletics presents a workout program for the upcoming week. There is no charge for following this program.
Step 2
Follow the load/set/reps prescriptions that are offered on the website. The Catalyst Athletics program often requires high intensity, multiple sets and high reps. For example, you will be asked to do at least 75 percent of your lifting capacity when you do a snatch exercise. You will also be asked to do two sets and five reps. Catalyst Athletics refers to lifting capacity as "rep max."
Step 3
Use the tempo prescription that Catalyst Athletics offers with each exercise. For example, when you are doing the bench press, you might see the number "3020" next to the exercise. That means you have three seconds to lower the weight and then two seconds to bring it back up again. This is vital toward executing the Catalyst Athletic exercises in the correct way.
Step 4
Modify the workout if you are struggling with the "rep max" percentages listed with each exercise. If you are new to the program, or if you are recovering from an injury, you may not be able to execute the exercise to the level the program requires. Don't try to lift more than you are capable of lifting.

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Posted in: Strength Exercises

3 Things to Know About Trapezius Strength Exercises

Your trapezius muscle is a large, kite-shaped muscle located on the back of your body. It begins at the base of your skull and spreads downward to the middle of your back. The trapezius consists of three different parts. Each part has different functions because the muscle fibers run in different directions and attach to different bones.


Upper Trapezius
Your upper trapezius begins at the base of your skull and inserts onto your collarbone and shoulder blade. Your shoulder blade slides up when the trapezius contracts, creating a shrugging motion. Exercises like shrugs, upright rows and power cleans challenge and strengthen the upper trapezius.
Middle Trapezius
Your middle trapezius forms the wings of the trapezius kite. It begins at the vertebrae of your upper back and fans out to attach to the inner edge of your shoulder blades. Your shoulder blades squeeze together when your middle trapezius contracts, so your middle trapezius engages during any exercise that moves the shoulder blades together, like cable rows, dumbbell rows, inverted rows, and reverse flies. The rowing machine and water rowing also use your middle trapezius. Isolate the movement created by your middle trapezius by holding onto a cable or band placed at chest height, parallel to the floor. Pull the cable toward you slightly, keeping your arms straight. Create the movement by squeezing your shoulder blades together. Hold for three to five seconds, release and repeat.
Lower Trapezius
Your lower trapezius begins on the vertebrae of your middle back and attaches to your shoulder blade. The lower trapezius pulls your shoulder blade downward and keeps your shoulder blade close to your ribcage. Exercises like pullups, lat pulldowns and lat sweeps all help strengthen your lower trapezius. Isolate the movement created by the lower trapezius by holding onto a lat pulldown cable with straight arms, then sliding your shoulder blades down your back without bending your arms. Hold for three to five seconds, release and repeat.
Considerations
Strengthening your trapezius muscles may make the muscle stronger but won't necessarily improve its function or your shoulder stability; Strength requires coordination of your nervous system as well as tensile muscle strength. You may need to improve function of your trapezius muscles by using them against little or no resistance, especially if you recently suffered a shoulder injury. Perform 12 to 20 repetitions of exercises that involve shrugging your shoulders, squeezing your shoulder blades together and sliding your shoulder blades down your back. Perform the movements in the bent-over, prone or seated positions.

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Posted in: Strength Exercises