Prevention Yoga – Case Study Surfer Shoulder

Case Studies - shoulder surfer

Case Studies - corporate executive shoulder injury surfer.
We brought our friend Nick to show how to work with the shoulder.

The action of paddling in surfing strengthens the larger muscles around the shoulder, but with regular paddling, we tend to become strong in  muscles that apply upward force and relatively weak in the muscles that apply downward force. This can result in the ball of the arm bone sliding upwards in the shoulder joint. Impingement Syndrome occurs when there is abnormal contact between the rotator cuff muscles and the roof of the shoulder.

The shoulder is inherently unstable. The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone), as well as associated muscles, ligaments, and tendons. The glenoid  (shoulder socket) only contacts approximately 30 percent of humeral (upper arm bone) head. The labrum (cartilage ring) increases joint surface and stability is reinforced by ligaments and tendons. The compromise between mobility and stability results in a large number of shoulder problems not faced by other joints such as the hip, which is inherently more stable.