Fix Your Back or Keep Complaining—Your Shoulders Don’t Care
Shoulder Pain? Why Your Back Might Be to Blame? Shoulder issues are among the most common yet misunderstood reasons individuals seek my expertise. While the shoulder often appears to be the primary source of dysfunction, the root cause is typically not the shoulder itself but rather the thoracic spine and scapulothoracic joint. The shoulder is a highly complex joint, essential for upper limb movement and function, as it relies on a finely tuned balance of muscular force relationships and joint stability. The thoracic spine and scapulothoracic joint play critical roles in maintaining this balance, directly impacting shoulder health and performance.. Key notes Muscles Involved in Shoulder Function Seventeen muscles are directly involved in moving, stabilizing, or controlling the shoulder complex. These muscles attach to both the shoulder and scapula, each playing a specific role in movement and stabilization. Working synergistically, they enable complex shoulder movements. The Role of the Thoracic Spine in Scapulothoracic Joint Function The scapulothoracic joint is a pseudo-joint where the scapula glides over the thoracic rib cage. While it lacks traditional joint structures (e.g., a joint capsule or synovial fluid), it is essential for shoulder movement and stability. More often than not, limitations in thoracic spine mobility or poor posture are the underlying issues, not the shoulder itself. Impact of the Thoracic Spine on the Scapulothoracic Joint Muscle Imbalances:Poor thoracic posture, such as kyphosis, disrupts the length-tension relationships of muscles like the rhomboids, serratus anterior, and trapezius. This imbalance compromises both the stability and mobility of the scapulothoracic joint. Thoracic Extension:Thoracic spine extension increases shoulder flexion range and overhead reach. In contrast, a flexed (hunched) thoracic spine causes the scapula to adopt a protracted and downwardly rotated position, limiting overhead motion. Scapular Positioning:Proper thoracic alignment allows for optimal scapular positioning, which is essential for the effective activation of key muscles like the serratus anterior and trapezius. These muscles are critical for upward rotation of the scapula during overhead movements. Shoulder Biomechanics:Adequate thoracic extension creates space for smooth scapular movement, facilitating proper scapulohumeral rhythm—the coordination of scapular and humeral motion during arm movement. Restricted thoracic mobility disrupts this rhythm, leading to compensatory movements, early fatigue, and an increased risk of injury. Conclusion Shoulder dysfunction often stems from issues within the thoracic spine and scapulothoracic joint, rather than the shoulder itself. When posture is poor—particularly with thoracic kyphosis (a hunched upper back)—the scapula becomes misaligned, leading to compensatory movements. This dysfunction sets the shoulder up for inevitable failure, even if it isn’t the root cause of the problem. You get what you train: If you spend hours every day sitting hunched in a chair, your body adapts and becomes optimized for that “hunched-in-chair lifestyle training.” Over time, this repetitive posture limits thoracic mobility, disrupts scapular alignment, and sabotages shoulder function. As someone who works at a desk to treat patients, work in a gym to train clients, and is the reigning strongest push-pull champion ( bench and deadlift) on the planet, I know firsthand how critical it is to reset shoulder mechanics. I have a few go-to band exercises that I use regularly to get my shoulders ready to perform at their best. Check out the videos I’ve shared and contact me to improve your shoulder health, break free from postural dysfunction, and optimize your shoulder performance for whatever life demands. Shoulder Activation Video: Hyperextension Mini Band Low W (External Rotation) 2sets x 5-10 A great full-body posterior chain activator designed to warm up the shoulders and back within their functional sequential chain. This exercise emphasizes building external rotation strength and scapular engagement through focused squeezing. Perfect for preparing the entire posterior chain for movement. Bilateral Banded Internal Rotation Flyes: Perform 2-3 sets of 5-10 repetitions to activate key muscles that may have become dormant or underactive from prolonged sitting. This exercise is perfect for re-engaging the internal rotators and stabilizing muscles, effectively preparing your body for optimal movement in your training. “Empowering Physcial Education Today to Elevate Performance Tomorrow.”-Dr. Blake Tobin DPT
Does your Trainer Even Train (LTAD)?
Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) is a structured training approach that revolutionizes how we perceive sports and physical activity. It provides individuals with a unique roadmap to success grounded in logic and measurable milestones. With LTAD, there’s no room for guesswork or trial and error—everyone is held to a standard, ensuring accountability throughout the journey. I strongly advocate for the principle that “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” It’s akin to understanding that one must crawl before they can walk—establishing a solid foundation of physical fitness is essential. Sadly, amidst the noise of social media and the proliferation of self-proclaimed expert trainers, this crucial message often gets lost. It’s disheartening to witness individuals thrust into activities without the requisite physical literacy to navigate them safely. What’s more concerning is the blind trust and financial investment people place in trainers who lack the expertise to understand both skill progression and individual suitability. A robust system should accurately assess an individual’s level and set clear, achievable goals that yield tangible results. Three primary outcomes are targeted by my LTAD system, all geared toward fostering a healthier, happier, and more successful society through personal development and achievement: Comprehensive Physical Literacy for Children: My LTAD system ensures that every child achieves physical literacy by mastering fundamental movement and sports skills, while concurrently building the confidence to apply them effectively. Elevated Achievement Levels for Athletes: Through a meticulously designed pathway of developmentally appropriate training, competition, and recovery programs, my LTAD system facilitates a higher attainment level for athletes. This structured approach aims to optimize their potential and enhance performance outcomes. Enhanced Self-Efficacy and Participation in Active Lifestyles: The LTAD system contributes to increased self-efficacy and engagement in physical activities and sports. By offering high-quality sports and physical activity programs, individuals are empowered to develop confidence in their abilities, leading to greater participation and enjoyment of an active lifestyle. In essence, LTAD isn’t merely about achieving athletic excellence—it’s about nurturing the holistic development of individuals and empowering them to lead fulfilling lives through sports and physical activity. “Empowering Education Today to Elevate Performance Tomorrow.”-Dr. Blake Tobin DPT
How aging effect your heart & lungs ?
Aging is often associated with a loss of function as a person becomes old and “decrepit”. However, contrary to western social belief getting older it is a normal natural process of the human life cycle. The idea of aging needs to be elevated with a mature healthy perspective. It is important to understand that process of aging does not have to be thought of as undesirable. Aging should be appreciated even welcomed as a chance to make permenant lifestyle changes, improve and grow into “the best next” version of ones self. As we age normal physiological functions of the body become less efficient and effective. The process of aging causes changes with metabolic functions that controls the heart contraction and contractual rate.1 This in turn leads to the decline in peak performance(maximum heart rate). When looking at the cardiopulmonary system these are the normal aging changes that can be expected as seen in the chart below. Moreover a persons lifestyle can and will be effected with these changes.1 Aerobic & Cardiopulmonary Changes with Aging Change 1 Effect ↓ Vascular elasticity ↑ Blood Pressure ↑ Left ventricular hypertrophy ↓ Ventricle compliance ↓ Adrenergic Responsiveness ↓ exercise heart rate ↓ Rate of calcium pumped by the sarcoplasmic reticulum Prolonged time for cardiac muscle relation Prolonged time to peak force cardiac muscle Prolonged contraction time of cardiac muscle ↓ Cardiac muscle twitch force ↓ in the velocity of cardiac muscle shortening ↓ Rate of adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) ↓ in the velocity of cardiac muscle shortening ↓ Myosin adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activity ↓ in the velocity of cardiac muscle shortening Diastolic dysfunction impaired ventricular filling, the potential to ↑ cardiac preload, and congestive heart failure Decreased lean body mass ↓muscle strength and peak oxygen consumption Table is Essentials of Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapy1 ** ↑ Increase, ↓ Decrease The changes above should be represented with a gradual decline over time; however, for sedentary adults, the experience may be more immediate and have potentially debilitating effects. Physical exercise is a person’s number one self-treatment in the prevention of many co-morbidities associated with aging (heart attack, stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc). Physical activity is the best holistic approach to healing compared to more medically invasive procedures. It aims to empower the individual to take accountability for self-wellness giving them the tools to manage their own care. Who says we cannot get better as we age? Being physically active does not guarantee a perfect health chart, but it’s a start to drastically reducing risk while preparing the body to recover better if it’s been injured or an aliment does occur. It is extremely important that the body is challenged consistently with regular bouts of strength and aerobic activities. Choosing to do nothing about the outcome of self-health is irresponsible and the reason aging can be so disabling. It is like neglecting the keep up your house, eventually, things are going to break down and fall apart. My advice is don’t wait until the pipes burst to begin caring about your health. Be proactive and remember to always receive qualified professional service. Hillegass EA. Essentials of Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapy. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier; 2017.