July 31, 2020
This month is TRADIES health month, so as promised we are giving advice on how to reduce the risk of injuries common to all of you tradies out there.
This week’s blog is centred around the shoulder, aiming to provide you with all the foundations to improve shoulder strength and stability!!
As mentioned in our previous post, trades involving repetitive overhead work or shoulder motion can result in damage to the surrounding tendons of the shoulder, this is why it is vital to ensure you work to improve overall strength and stability of the shoulder to minimise the risk of further damage occurring.
The following 3 exercises are designed to do just that!!
- ‘Sharapova’s’
How to perform:
- Standing facing the wall, place your forearms flat up against the wall and apply tension to the theraband
- Move one arm up and out to the side, following a ‘C-shaped’ pattern while the other arm remains anchored against the wall
- Continue to alternate between left and right for 3-4 repetitions per side
Repeat for 5 sets
Benefit:
This exercise works very locally at the shoulder targeting the small shoulder stabilising muscles. This exercise will help to build strength and endurance of the shoulders to reduce niggling while working in the overhead position.
View the exercise – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKqYAu6dJ9k
- Upside down kettle bell press
How to perform:
- Kneeling down on 1 knee, hold the kettle bell upside down so the heavy portion of the kettle bell sits above the handle
- Align your wrist, elbow and shoulder at a 90degree angle
- From this position press the kettle bell up overhead
Note: work hard to keep the elbow straight as your pressing the kettle bell up (don’t let it flare out to the side)
Benefit:
The instability of the kettle bell will test your joint proprioception and stability, the muscles surrounding your shoulder joint will need to work hard to keep the joint stable as you press the weight up overhead. This exercise will prove useful for tradies who use heavy / unstable tools for overhead work as well as lifting and carrying unstable equipment above shoulder height.
View the exercise – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq8M7qeBAks
- Turkish get up
How to perform:
- Lie down on your back with the right knee bent up and left arm held up straight
- Drive through your right heel to roll onto the right elbow and then push up onto hand to sit up tall
- Lift hips off the ground and pivot your body over into a side plank
- Swing your right leg back behind the left and press through your hand to come into a kneeling position
- Then press through feet to come up into standing
Alternate between both sides
Benefit:
The Turkish get up requires you to hold one arm in a stable overhead position while moving through multiple planes of motion, all while supporting yourself with one hand and transitioning from lying to kneeling and then into standing. This challenges overall shoulder stability through functional movement.
View the exercise- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_zTytmHM94
Give these awesome exercises a shot, as always if you have any questions about this topic or any others please reach out- 9544 0477 or email- beachsidephysio@gmail.com
