{"id":24990,"date":"2019-06-19T11:24:23","date_gmt":"2019-06-19T17:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=24990"},"modified":"2025-03-07T09:38:48","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T16:38:48","slug":"the-functional-shoulder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/the-functional-shoulder\/","title":{"rendered":"The functional shoulder"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"A
Shoulder injuries that are more common with overhead sports include loss of internal rotation, issues with the biceps, and irritation and tears to the rotator cuff. Photo by Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When it comes to overhead sports like baseball and tennis, the shoulder joint plays an important role. Its wide range of motion makes it possible to pitch or serve a ball, but also leaves the joint susceptible to injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf all our joints, shoulders are the ones with the most range of motion, which means they\u2019re less constrained and rely more on soft tissue and muscle balance for stability,\u201d said Dr. Adam Wilson<\/a>, an orthopaedic surgeon in Steamboat Springs and a member of the medical staff at UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center<\/a>. \u201cThat makes shoulders much more prone to injury.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sports-related issues<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Overhead sports can be hard on shoulders.<\/p>\n

\u201cPitchers take the shoulder to extremes of motions, creating a strong force as the shoulder externally rotates. That can lead to a loss of internal rotation,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cWith tennis, the same thing can happen with serves.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then, the arm must quickly decelerate after a pitch is released or the ball is hit.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of force goes into the shoulder to slow it from maximum speed to resting,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cIrritation, pain and certain injuries can result from the massive force that\u2019s repetitively put through the shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shoulder injuries that are more common with overhead sports include loss of internal rotation, issues with the biceps tendon and labrum, and irritation and tears to the rotator cuff.<\/p>\n

To avoid injury, be sure to rest appropriately and avoid overuse. That\u2019s especially important for younger players, who are more susceptible to injury.<\/p>\n

Prevention Tip No. 1 \u2013 Strengthen<\/strong><\/h3>\n

To maintain a healthy, functional shoulder, you should work those muscles. But a well-rounded strengthening regimen may not be what you\u2019d expect.<\/p>\n

\"This
Dr. Adam Wilson is an orthopedic surgeon in Steamboat Springs and a member of the medical staff at UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center. Photo courtesy UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cA lot of times when people are working out their shoulders, they focus on the big muscles, like the trapezius and deltoids,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cReally, the small muscles are the most important for maintaining a healthy, mobile shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n

For instance, to strengthen the rotator cuff, which is the group of muscles and tendons surrounding the shoulder joint, Wilson recommends keeping the elbow at the side, then using light resistance while rotating the hand out and in towards the stomach.<\/p>\n

Prevention Tip No. 2 \u2013 Stretch<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When thinking of shoulders, the phrase \u2018use it or lose it,\u2019 comes to mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the shoulder isn\u2019t used, it\u2019s prone to getting stiff,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cEven for a minor injury, if the arm is put in a sling or the shoulder isn\u2019t used because of pain, inflammation can cause the joint capsule to constrict and get stiff, which results in more pain, creating a cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilson recommends patients continue to use the shoulder even with a certain amount of pain, unless the injury needs to be immobilized.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a balance,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cWe want to keep it from getting stiff, while allowing it to heal.\u201d<\/p>\n

To create mobility, hold onto a broomstick or baseball bat, then use one arm to take the other through a wide range of motions.<\/p>\n

And try the \u201csleeper stretch\u201d\u201d: lie on your side with your elbow at your side, then let your arm ease down towards the abdomen.<\/p>\n

When injury strikes<\/strong><\/h3>\n

See a health care professional if you have a specific injury \u2013 maybe you hear a pop or feel immediate pain \u2013 or if you have chronic pain that doesn\u2019t improve after resting and avoiding irritating activities.<\/p>\n

And don\u2019t forget the power of rest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first step is often rest, which is hard for a lot of athletes to do,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cBut pushing through the pain can result in worse injuries or a more difficult recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This article first appeared in the Steamboat Pilot & Today on June 10, 2019.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When it comes to overhead sports like baseball and tennis, the shoulder joint plays an important role. Its wide range of motion makes it possible to pitch or serve a ball, but also leaves the joint susceptible to injury. \u201cOf all our joints, shoulders are the ones with the most range of motion, which means […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2163,"featured_media":24991,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[183,9187,130,395,2518],"class_list":["post-24990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthy-living","tag-orthopedics","tag-readysetco","tag-rehabilitation","tag-sports-medicine","tag-uchealth-yampa-valley-medical-center"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe functional shoulder - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Shoulders have the most range of motion of all the joints, which means theyre much more prone to injury.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The functional shoulder\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Shoulders have the most range of motion of all the joints, which means theyre much more prone to injury.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/the-functional-shoulder\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UCHealth Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-19T17:24:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-07T16:38:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/19111518\/GettyImages-155601846.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Susan Cunningham, for UCHealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Susan Cunningham, for UCHealth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/the-functional-shoulder\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/the-functional-shoulder\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Susan Cunningham, for UCHealth\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f2737182b44781de4109fdd5dd464270\"},\"headline\":\"The functional shoulder\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-19T17:24:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-07T16:38:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/the-functional-shoulder\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":687,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/the-functional-shoulder\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/19111518\\\/GettyImages-155601846.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Orthopedics\",\"Ready. 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