Tips for Preventing Shoulder Injury

by Kevin Smith Author

Whether you play sports or simply enjoy a physically active lifestyle, you might be at risk for a shoulder injury. It’s fairly common to strain a muscle in the shoulder or misalign it. It’s a weak joint that sees a lot of stress over time, so you need to give it proper care to keep it from getting hurt. Generally staying in shape with proper exercise and diet can help your whole body including your shoulder, but it’s also a good idea to give your shoulders some isolated attention. A sports medicine center in Renton, WA, is a good place to seek advice, especially if your shoulder is already hurt, but there are a few ways that you can prevent a lot of injuries from happening in the first place.

Posture

The way you stand and sit influences the way your muscles develop, and if you don’t use good posture, your muscles can start to stiffen and weaken. You might not think that posture applies to shoulders, but you do need to keep your back straight and your shoulders back as you sit or walk so that you don’t put pressure on them at a harmful angle. When you’re at the computer, you should especially watch your arm placement, resting your forearms on the arms of the chair. You should also try to find an ergonomic mouse and keyboard if possible.

Lifting

When you’re moving around, you should also pay attention to your body. Specifically, when you’re lifting, you should crouch down and lift from your knees, not bend over and lift from your back. You should also try to avoid lifting heavy things above your shoulders as much as possible. When you’re carrying something heavy, walk straight without twisting around.

Exercise

You can also build up shoulder strength with different types of exercise. Many types of presses and rows can help you build that muscle, such as the barbell push press, the seated overhead dumbbell press, the dumbbell incline row, and the upright row. You can get more information on these and other exercises from a sports medicine center in Renton, WA, which can help you develop a personal exercise plan. Whatever you do, make sure you properly warm up first with should rotations, overhead arm stretches, and more. You should also give your shoulders time to rest. As with any muscle group, it’s also possible to overwork it, so you need to hit that fine balance. For more information on how to keep your shoulder muscles in good condition, contact your local sports medicine center today.