Why does the shoulder tend to be a common place of pain?

If you look at the human body you tend to see a common trend. We have areas of high mobility and areas of lower mobility or greater stability. In the areas of higher mobility we tend to have difficulty stabilizing them. Three of the most common areas of injury are the hip, the shoulder, and the ankle. The hip and shoulder are both ball and socket joints meaning they have a large rotational range of motion. The ankle joint is a hinge joint but also carries the capacity for rotational movement. When joints have large ranges of motion we need to have the ability to keep our joints in or near their central position or we have a greater likelihood of injury with activity.

So why do we have difficulty stabilizing the shoulder joint? Not only is the shoulder joint the most mobile joint but we also tend to overuse and over-train the anterior(front) portion of the shoulder. Most jobs and hobbies cause us to move our shoulders into a forward position over and over again. For anyone who has a hobby that prioritizes a rowing motion, you get a gold star today. Slowly over time the front portion of our shoulder become very dominant in movement and motion and cause a disposition for anterior shoulder positioning.

In summary our shoulder is highly mobile and we tend to overuse the front musculature without training the back portion leading to a change in shoulder joint position.

How do we fix our shoulders? Get a proper evaluation of the musculature and movements you need to work on. Following a proper evaluation and corrective exercises, its important to continue to do these exercises even at a reduced rate once the shoulder is feeling better.