Great Exercise For Shoulder Pain, Neck Pain, and a Stronger Core

 
I've got a great move for you today that is critical if you plan on continuing to be able to get up and down off the ground!
 
It's also AWESOME for shoulder rehabilitation and for taking stress and tension out of your neck.
 
So come on out to the fossil beds with the boys and I and do this important move from infant posture development that will give you amazing power, 
confidence, and of course…organic posture!
 
And be sure to leave me a comment to let me know what you think, OK?
 
I always read them all and respond to as many as I can!
 
Keep thinking good thoughts, eating good food, and keep moving…like a child!
 
Dr. Steve
 
P.S.  I'm getting excited about the new free training series I'm putting together for you!
 
It's almost ready so be on the lookout for it soon!

Comments

  1. Keeping it simple, you have a knack for that. With aging we need to be able to get up off the floor. You helped me once again. I also admire you on the rocks with bare feet! How do you do it? Thank you, and you have a very handsome son. Bless your whole family. Mary

    • Thank you, Miss Mary! The truth IS simple. Become aware of your support points and push away!

      I spend a LOT of time barefoot and LOVE feeling bare feet on rocks…MAJOR electron transfer.

      Blessings to your family as well!

      drh

  2. Dr. Steve,
    You amaze me! I am in awe of the great shape you are in. Thank you for an excellent video in a beautiful setting. Thank you for all the help you all have given me. See you all soon.
    Lynn

  3. Great stuff Dr. Hoffmann, DNS is gonna be my first CPD course… what is your opinion about Lederman considerations on his study titled “the myth of core stability”? Although I think he has a rant on the obsession that some Australian authors have on the “selective” activation of the Transverse Abdominis which is a bit of a nonsense technically speaking… ๐Ÿ™‚

    • I think Lederman has used the “pain is in the brain” research by Melzak,http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11780656 which explains chronic pain syndromes and the importance of remapping the brain neuromatrix to “throw the baby out with the bathwater” when it comes to using core stability exercises.

      Grooving functional movement patterns does amazing things and soft tissue techniques and joint adjustments / mobilizations without a doubt speed healing tremendously.

      Maybe I’ll see you at a DNS course someday!

      drh

      • If I will ever be around US! ๐Ÿ˜€ More possible I will do it in the UK ๐Ÿ˜€ Thanks anyway for these videos, they are cool, enjoyable and you share with all us you experience and point of view which is always appreciable

  4. Hi Dr Steve,
    This exercise is just great!
    I have had shoulder/back/neck issues for a number of years and can tell you that I have improved my quality of life through movement thanks to you, and an understanding physiotherapist and also with acupuncture therapy.
    Consider that last year I could barely drive due to frozen shoulder, and was unable to bend much at all, today I am able to sit on the floor and touch my toes.
    So thank you so much. You’re a legend! ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Dr Steve, have you come across exercises that stretch the fascia either in some degree of isolation or across a chain?

    • Many functional movements do specifically that, Ram. The push away lunge for instance in the free series releases / stimulates the fascia from the knee to the hip. Adding a lateral trunk tilt and overhead hand reach would bring in even more of the sling. That’s just one example. Hope that helps.

  6. nice video.

    This exercice is actually also practiced in the Pilates method. Excellent training for the core.

    Even though I would recomend to poeple who want to practice it to :
    – “warm up” the wrists (if practiced a few times in a row on each sides)
    – watch out for the alingnment of the neck (on a “straight”line from the spine).

    thank you Doctor,

    please, explain more about the importance of fascias in health (not only in movement, but “mindset” also…)

    thanks

    • Fascia used to be thought of as simply “connective tissue” that simply connected body parts together but research as exploded. This abstract by Robert Schleip summarizes the new facts around fascia”

      “In myofascial manipulation an immediate tissue release is often felt under the working hand. This amazing feature has traditionally been attributed to mechanical properties of the connective tissue. Yet studies have shown that either much stronger forces or longer durations would be required for a permanent viscoelastic deformation of fascia.

      Fascia nevertheless is densely innervated by mechanoreceptors which are responsive to manual pressure. Stimulation of these sensory receptors has been shown to lead to a lowering of sympathetic tonus as well as a change in local tissue viscosity. Additionally smooth muscle cells have been discovered in fascia, which seem to be involved in active fascial contractility. Fascia and the autonomic nervous system appear to be intimately connected.

      A change in attitude in myofascial practitioners from a mechanical perspective toward an inclusion of the self-regulatory dynamics of the nervous system
      is suggested.” (Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies (2003) 7(1),11^19 )

      As far as the “mindset” implications. Normalizing fascial movement and tone brings on more of what I call “Peace Physiology”. Meaning fight or flight nervous system activity is calmed. That brings on the FEELING of peace.

      Get a quality soft tissue release and you’ll experience it.

      drh

      p.s. you are correct. keeping the neck elongated is critical to all core exercise.

  7. Thank you for the wonderful exercises. I will add these into my cardio routine. Similar to what we do with Les Mills CX Worx. But there you have to be mindful of your posture. Your way just seems to keep it in line.
    Jumping railings, impressive. I’m short so that’s a bit intimidating for me. ๐Ÿ™‚
    Butt pain is subsiding with your stretch technique. Also running less frequently and slower helps. Trying to stick to minimal hills as well. (for now.)

  8. Another great installment in Core Wellness TV! I love it. American College of Sports Medicine say, “Exercise is Medicine” you take it more simply and say “Movement is Medicine”. A lot of what you do would be called Functional Exercise. Could we say Functional Medicine or is that something else?

    • Functional medicine (which I practice) is already taken and defined by the institute for functional medicine as thus:

      “Functional medicine addresses the underlying causes of disease, using a systems-oriented approach and engaging both patient and practitioner in a therapeutic partnership. It is an evolution in the practice of medicine that better addresses the healthcare needs of the 21st century. By shifting the traditional disease-centered focus of medical practice to a more patient-centered approach, functional medicine addresses the whole person, not just an isolated set of symptoms. Functional medicine practitioners spend time with their patients, listening to their histories and looking at the interactions among genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence long-term health and complex, chronic disease. In this way, functional medicine supports the unique expression of health and vitality for each individual.”

      I have called what I do “Functional MOVEMENT Medicine” in the past and is a pretty good definition but does not encompass all three pillars of mindset movement and nutrition…which are critical.

      But Fx Movment Medicine is how we usually start. Then once the client / student feel the difference they start wanting to do more with other lifestyle factors of functional medicine.

      Good to hear from you, Tim! Great comment!

      drh

  9. Thanks!!! It seems every time I get an email from you it is so relevant to what is going on with me and my body. You have helped me more often than you know. This current posture for the shoulder has had immediate results for my aching shoulder!
    Ellen

  10. That definition of Functional Medicine definitely describes what you do. Too bad it couldn’t get more attention in the national healthcare debate. Hoffmanacare?

    • HA! That’s good, Tim.

      But seriously, 100% responsibility to make the decisions to life an inspired life immersed in a healing environment of thought, movement, and nutrition is the only way to keep the health care system from crumbling.

      Check that…the current system HAS to crumble and be rebuilt from the ground up. I’m not waiting for the matrix to change. I am the change. You are the change. We are the change.

      But everyone has to realize the Truth and live an inspired life based on:

      -Present moment awareness (not being attached to / worried about future outcomes or past experiences)
      -The understanding the Golden Rule of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
      -Awareness of calm, functional, peaceful, expansive breathing
      -Maintaining organic / authentic / human movement patterns like we used as a 4 to 6 year old.
      -Eating a consciously chosen whole food, plant based diet (even if you choose to eat animal
      products, those animals should have eaten PLANTS…NOT GRAINS their whole life)

      There’s more (from my perspective) but that covers a lot!

      Thanks for the poke. I guess I needed it for that to come out.

      drh

      (breaking into song ๐Ÿ™‚ “We are the world…we are the children…”

  11. You really are a star!!
    You do such excellent work and have helped in so many ways and so many times.
    Love your mini exercise tips and reminders to stay aware of body moves etc.
    keep them coming and thanks a million, all the best from Jade

    • Thanks Jade…and you’re welcome! The revolution is happening. The switch from treating the system is tipping toward treating the brain maps / programs that are leading to the problems.

      We just need to “release our old damaging breakdown patterns and re-wire new programs for vitality and renewal!

      And you said the magic word in your comment “AWARE”. Being AWARE and not going through life asleep at the wheel is the key!

      Thanks for the comment!

      drh

  12. Hi Dr Steve, it’s always a pleasure receiveing your mails and your movies with all useful tips. And your entusiasm!! Wow!
    I just want to take the oportunity to ask if you have any recommendations for my son who has a sholder that keeps popping out of place. He is hypermobile and I assume he needs to strenghten the muscles around the sholder to prevent that from happening. Is there any particular excersices that pinpoint the sholder area?

    • What you see in this video and variations of challenging “one armed stability” is a great place to start, Monica. That’s exactly where I start anybody with an unstable shoulder.

      For more in-depth specific advice be on the lookout for the new coaching program! (past or current coaching course students may upgrade by contacting me)

  13. Hello Dr Steve,
    I write you from Belgium! I am Flemish speaking so my English is not perfect!
    I am a 60 year old physiotherapist (just retired)who worked 33 years with lost of engagement for 10 years in the Intensive Care Unit and than in the Geriatric department.
    I enjoy watching your videos on my iPad: your enthusiasm and the way you like to share your knowledge over the Internet, your way of working with people ( to learn them how to exercise on their own, less depending from a therapist). I learn from you and I feel confirmed in the way I think myself and practice. My husband has Parkinson’s disease diagnosed since already 8 years and fairly well under control with the medication. We exercise together( not sufficiently!) and I focus and insist on his posture ! I want to keep him straight! I hope this is possible!
    Thank You for sending me your video’s they give often a boost and a reminder!
    Greetings from another continent!
    Els

    • Els says:
      October 17, 2012 at 3:33 pm
      Hello Dr Steve,
      Hello Dr. Steve,

      I write you from Belgium! I am Flemish speaking so my English is not perfect!
      I am a 60 year old physiotherapist (just retired)who worked 33 years with lost of engagement for 10 years in the Intensive Care Unit and than in the Geriatric department.
      I enjoy watching your videos on my iPad: your enthusiasm and the way you like to share your knowledge over the Internet, your way of working with people ( to learn them how to exercise on their own, less depending from a therapist). I learn from you and I feel confirmed in the way I think myself and practice. My husband has Parkinsonโ€™s disease diagnosed since already 8 years and fairly well under control with the medication. We exercise together( not sufficiently!) and I focus and insist on his posture ! I want to keep him straight! I hope this is possible!
      Thank You for sending me your videoโ€™s they give often a boost and a reminder!
      Greetings from another continent!
      Els

      Reply

  14. Hii, Drsteve
    \You do such excellent work,
    I Love your mini exercise tips about shoulder pain, neck pain and remind us to stay aware of body moves.

    Thanks for sharing a such great post

Leave a Reply