Do You Suffer From Upper Arm Pain?
Watch the video below to learn how to relieve upper arm pain from 2 common causes.
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What Causes Shoulder Pain When Reaching Forward?
Before we dive into the tips, it’s important to understand why shoulder pain when reaching forward occurs in the first place.
When you reach away from your body, the lever arm—the distance from your shoulder joint—gets longer.
The longer the lever arm, the more force it takes to lift even a light object, or even just your arm.
This increased force puts more stress on the shoulder, particularly the rotator cuff muscles.
Tip 1: Get Closer When Reaching
To reduce the stress on your shoulder, try to minimize the distance you reach.
Get as close to the object as possible, especially when lifting something heavy.
For example, if you’re reaching into the back of the fridge, step closer to avoid extending your arm too far.
This reduces the lever arm and the amount of torque on your shoulder, lowering the risk of pain.
Tip 2: Strengthen Your Serratus Anterior
When you reach forward, your shoulder blade moves forward on your trunk in a motion called protraction.
This movement uses both your chest muscles (pectorals) and your serratus anterior, a muscle that helps stabilize and rotate your shoulder blade.
Many people have strong, tight chest muscles, which can cause the shoulder blade to tip forward and pinch the rotator cuff tendons.
To prevent this, strengthening your serratus anterior is key.
One effective exercise is the "wall push-up plus," which helps build strength in this muscle while improving shoulder protraction.
How to Do a Wall Push-Up Plus:
- Stand facing a wall, with your arms extended in a push-up position.
- Bend your elbows slightly, then push back out, extending fully to create a "plus" movement.
- Focus on moving your shoulder blades away from your spine during the "plus" part of the movement.
- To make the exercise easier, stand closer to the wall. To make it harder, lean further into the wall.
Tip 3: Adjust Your Hand Position When Reaching Forward
Many people tend to reach forward with their palm down, but this can cause problems.
When you reach with your palm down, your shoulder rotates internally, which can pinch the rotator cuff tendons between the bones in your shoulder.
Instead, try reaching with your palm up or with your elbow tucked in.
This externally rotates the shoulder and reduces the risk of pinching the tendons.
Practice the Palm-Up Reach:
- Start with your elbow at your side, palm facing up.
- Reach forward with your palm up, allowing your shoulder blade to move forward as well.
- Return to the starting position, and repeat the motion.
- If this feels easy, add a light weight to increase the difficulty.
Final Thoughts
By applying these three simple tips, you can reduce shoulder pain when reaching forward and improve your shoulder mobility.
Need Help For Shoulder Pain?
If you live in the St. Louis area and need help for upper arm pain, tap the button below to request an appointment with one of our orthopedic manual physical therapy specialists.