Everything You Need to Know About Shoulder Pain with Eric Cressey
Eric Cressey is a shoulder expert and an internationally-famous strength and conditioning coach. As the president and co-founder of Cressey Sports Performance, he is responsible for the arm care and injury prevention programs of hundreds of Major League baseball players and, earlier this year, he was appointed Director of Player Health and Performance for the New York Yankees. As well as being an anatomy guru, Eric is also a competitive powerlifter who holds several state, national and world records.
During the show, we discuss the causes of shoulder pain and ponder the reasons why some treatment programs work and others don’t. As a general rule, Eric advises against rushing into surgery for a shoulder injury and suggests seeking out a non-operative rehabilitation program that is tailored to your individual needs rather than following a standard cookie-cutter approach that is unlikely to be successful. He also recommends finding a clinician who can carry out some manual therapy and following an exercise routine that features a wide range of movement and incorporates breath control techniques. Whether you’re a professional athlete or a regular person, Eric can suggest effective ways to increase your injury resilience and maximize your performance.
In this episode, you’ll hear from Eric on:
(07:51) The shoulder complex. Eric describes the anatomy of the shoulder and points out that the glenohumeral joint, (the classic ball and socket joint that everybody thinks of as the shoulder), is at the mercy of the other joints and tendons that surround it. He elaborates on the interdependence that exists between the glenohumeral, acromioclavicular, sternoclavicular and scapulothoracic joints and explains that the concentrated collection of tendons coming together in such a small area increases the likelihood of problems occurring with rotator cuff tears and shoulder impingement injuries.
(22:19) The role of strength. During the course of his career, Eric has learned that adaptation never happens in isolation and that concentrating purely on neuromuscular strength can increase the risk of developing unfavorable outcomes in other areas. Consequently, he explains that, although strength training might provide an absolute fix-all for some people, it can potentially exacerbate symptoms in others. He refers to his recent focus on the fascial system and stresses the importance of incorporating whole body and long-chain movements into a shoulder rehabilitation regime, rather than simply focusing on joint-specific ranges of motion and classic sagittal strength conditioning.
(31:54) Medicine ball training. Cressey Performance has had considerable success with its med ball training regimes but Eric emphasizes that people who have never worked with medicine balls before will need to do some preparation work to stabilize their core and optimize their hip and thoracic spine mobility before embarking on a routine. He suggests starting with overhead med ball exercises, in either a side-to-side or split stance, and progressing onto recoiled rollover stomps when you feel like introducing an element of thoracic rotation into your workout.
(40:00) The role of the breath. Eric describes coaching his clients how to breathe diaphragmatically and teaching them to understand the positioning of the rib cage in order to make it easier to find the optimal alignment into which air can be brought into the body. He also points out that a forceful exhale can create some beneficial stiffness by pushing the rib cage down and helping to hold the body in a stable position.
(53:43) Proprioceptive work. Eric’s advice is to rotate exercises frequently, add assistance work to get more variability and consider working on different surfaces, such as grass or sand, as a way to elicit some positive adaptations. He also suggests going barefoot more often to stimulate the sensory receptors in the feet.
In This Episode
Eric’s Sturdy Shoulders Course
Stacked 037 - Kettlebell Training, Part 1: Carries, Get-Ups, and Goblet Squats
Stacked 053 - Everything You Need to Know About Low Back Pain with Dr. Stuart McGill
Eric’s Training Videos:
Chin Up Technique
Split-Stance Stand-up Stomp
Landmine Press
Bottom’s Up Carry
Deep Squat Breathing with Lat Stretch
Wall Slide
Mobility Drills
Where to Find Eric
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