5 Everyday Habits That Quietly Damage Your Shoulder Joints

By Your Health Magazine

Your Health Magazine

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5 Everyday Habits That Quietly Damage Your Shoulder Joints

Shoulder joints are incredibly mobile, but sometimes, bad posture and other movement patterns can lead to all sorts of problems. Some habits don’t seem too harmful at first, but let them slide for long enough, and they will set you up for rotator cuff tears, arthritis, and chronic pain. Here are some of those habits that may damage your shoulder joints if not corrected soon enough.

Ignoring Persistent Shoulder Pain

One of many bad habits is dismissing shoulder discomfort as normal and continuing to tough it out instead of taking it as a signal to stop. Mild rotator cuff injuries or micro-tears usually result in mild ache that isn’t severe but is often persistent. Sometimes, they only come with specific movements. That’s why many people continue with their regular activities without giving their shoulders any rest. This results in shoulder weakness, tendon deterioration, reduced range of motion, and even premature shoulder osteoarthritis.

If the pain lingers for weeks, keeps you awake at night, or limits normal activities, know that conservative care just won’t help. It is a good idea to consult a specialist, like a top rated rotator cuff surgeon in San Diego, or your local area, to identify any serious tear. A surgeon is in the best position to determine if physical therapy would offer any relief or if it is better to consider some surgical treatments.

To avoid getting there, you must take any new pain in the shoulder area seriously and take steps to alleviate the discomfort. For starters, stop or limit the activity that caused the pain in the first place. Apply ice or heat as recommended and stick to whatever exercises a specialist has prescribed to address the pain. If the pain persists, be sure to contact a physical therapist, a sports medicine physician, or an orthopedic surgeon to help prevent irreversible damage to your joint.

Slouching Over Screens All Day

Modern screen habits are bad news for your shoulders, as they contribute to a slumped upper back, forward head, and shoulders that inch inward and up toward your ears. This causes you to tighten your chest and front shoulder muscles, and over-activate your small stabilizers around your shoulder blade that support the rotator cuff to be in perfect alignment. This change in alignment reduces the space for your rotator cuff tendons to move freely, increasing your risk of impingement and tendon irritation.

If you don’t want to ruin your shoulders, you must fix your bad posture as soon as possible. Begin by keeping your monitor at eye level, with your elbows at your sides and your shoulders not strained to reach your keyboard or mouse. Be sure to move every 30-60 minutes. Take a short walk, roll your shoulders gently, squeeze your shoulder blades together, and stretch your chest a little to prevent stiffness. If you’re already in pain, try some safe rotator cuff exercises and scapular strengthening under the supervision of your therapist. If done correctly, these exercises can help restore your posture and unload irritated tissues.

Carrying Bags on One Shoulder

Carrying a heavy bag on one shoulder every day may seem harmless but it can put those joints and muscles under an uneven load. This compels your body to adjust and compensate for the weight, which pulls the shoulder down and forward, making the muscles on one side of your neck and upper back work harder while the others become stretched out and weakened. The rotator cuff will be at a mechanical disadvantage, making every movement of the arm slightly more stressful.

In order to protect your shoulders, you should distribute the weight as evenly as you can. It means:

• Using a backpack with two straps instead of one
• Wearing the straps high up on your back
• Alternating sides if using a single-strap backpack

You also need to lighten the load, keep the heavy things against your back, and rest if carrying the pack for longer distances.

Repetitive Overhead Motions without Proper Conditioning

Reaching overhead repeatedly puts a lot of stress on the rotator cuff. When your arm is straight out overhead, the tendons are closer to surrounding structures in the shoulder, and doing this motion over and over can injure the tendons, especially if your shoulder muscles are already weak and fatigued.

Prevention involves paying attention to good mechanics and focusing on gradual progression. It’s a good idea to warm-up your shoulders before you start any overhead work. Also, be sure to strengthen the rotator cuff muscles. If your job requires frequent overhead use, it’s vital to take short breaks between tasks and try whatever ergonomic solutions you can find to keep your arms from being in a disadvantaged position for too long.

If you’re already experiencing persistent pain, you must immediately stop any overhead work you’re doing. Talk to a specialist and work on a rehabilitation plan. Also, it makes a lot of sense to get your shoulder checked to rule out major tears, which is usually the case if it hurts badly, you hear a popping sound, or you seem to lose strength in the affected joint.

Poor Form When Exercising

You don’t really have to handle huge loads to mess up your shoulders; your poor form is enough to cause all sorts of damage even if you’re handling lighter weights. Bad lifting habits are devastating for your shoulder health. The usual offenders include:

• Lifting heavy objects with your arms straight out from your body
• Doing exercises for your upper body with your shoulders rolled forward and back arched
• Yanking objects from overhead shelves with a twist

All these movements put stress on the front of your shoulder blade and rotator cuff, and it’s especially dangerous because your larger back muscles and core don’t really contribute during the movement.

To protect your shoulder, try to distribute the workload evenly throughout your body. This means keeping things close to your chest, hinging at the hips, keeping your knees bent, engaging your core, and avoiding jerky movements, especially with your arms out or rotated. At the gym, you should:

• Move with control instead of going for maximum weights
• Keep your shoulders down and back, away from your ears
• Learn proper technique from a trainer to maintain proper form.

In case you’ve already hurt your shoulder, lower the weight or limit the range of motion first. It’s also a good idea to try alternative exercises that don’t put too much stress on your affected joint. For instance, you can replace overhead presses with floor presses to manage your pain.

Endnote

By paying attention to these daily habits and making adjustments in the way you sit, carry or lift things, and how you respond to pain, you can reduce the damage that may cause future shoulder problems. If you find it harder to manage pain, be sure to consult a therapist or a surgeon to identify the root cause of your pain and fix it properly.