Prevention

=__Prevention of Shoulder Injuries__=

It's important to keep your shoulders strong and stable. You use your arms for almost everything and if one is hurt or injured, your daily life may have to change drastically. It's important to incorporate shoulder stability exercises into your workout to keep all the tiny muscles in your shoulder strong and pain free. Here's some tips how.

__Warming up and Getting ready for Activities__
Ppoline.com says, " The shoulder should be warmed up thoroughly with gradually increasing movements – big circles, across body movements, trunk twists, shoulder blade rolls and forward and backward squeezes. The purpose of this is to increase blood flow and temperature, thereby increasing the elasticity and ‘give’ in the soft tissues. A series of short duration stretches (ie, 5-10 seconds) of all the main muscle groups should follow and then finally a session of more sports specific drills. These are used to warm up the brain’s connection to the muscle, ie to reinforce correct motor patterns, and also to set the right neural reflexes in the muscle" (Prevention 6).

__Rotator Cuff Strength and Control__
Rotator Cuff strength is vital to a strong healthy shoulder. Here are some tips to keep that shoulder strong. The rotator cuff (RC) muscles are dependent on the good positioning of the scapula for effective control. If the scapula is angled too far forward or downward, for instance, while the tennis player reaches overhead to smash, the RC muscles are biomechanically disadvantaged and may fail to keep the HOH centred. The role of the RC muscles therefore is to maintain the position of the HOH while the prime mover muscles generate power. As you improve your scapular control, the RC muscles are able to act more efficiently and independently of the scapular control muscles. That is to say that you should be able to hold the scapula quite still in the neutral position while you independently move your arm. This skill is called ‘Glenohumeral Dissociation’. Thus with each of the following exercises, it is assumed that the scapula is being held as close as possible to neutral: These are just a few ways to strengthen your shoulder. If you want to find out more ask your family doctor or [|check this website out.]
 * Internal/external rotation with arm by the side ** . Standing. Rolled towel held between elbow and ribs. Attach one end of an elastic or theraband to a door knob and hold the other end in your hand with elbow bent 90°. Set scapula. Slowly pull across body at the same time – three sets of 10 pulling to right, 3 x 10 pulling to left.
 * Internal/external rotation with arm at 90° away from body ** . Lying on back. Attach one end of an elastic or theraband to a chair leg and hold the other end in your hand with elbow bent 90° resting on ground. Set scapula. Pull hand forward until limit of flexibility and slowly release. Three sets of 10. Opposite movement – pulling hand up above head – 3 x 10.
 * End of range gentle flicks ** . Standing. Elastic tied to doorknob. Face away from doorknob, holding arm up above head with elastic in hand on tension. Allow arm to slightly drop backwards from elastic tension, pull forward slightly on tension. Repeat slowly, gradually increasing speed and tension over the following two or three weeks. Monitor any shoulder soreness the next day to determine whether you’ve gone too hard!
 * Stand facing wall with ball ** (Swiss or other held up on wall at head height). Step back so you’re leaning onto ball. Set scapula. Make small circles on the wall with outstretched hand on ball. five sets of 10 anti/clockwise each. Rest and repeat" (Prevention 8&9).