10/01/2023
Answers to pain-free shoulder movement
Well over 1000 studies have been performed on shoulder pain and to this date there is no clear direction to follow. The medical costs for shoulder pain in the US come to $7B/yr.
I have shoulder bone loss and experience moderate discomfort when slowly extending my arm above shoulder height, and severe acute pain with normal speed or when having to stretch in any direction to reach an object.
My doctor gave me two options. To live within my physical limitations or surgery.
The pain eventually reached the point where even Codman's pendulum exercises became undo-able.
That was 30 years ago. I was in my early forties and living in constant fear of normal arm movements.
I'm now 73, with no pain, no restrictions, a full range of motion, and healthy. Surgery was avoided.
Presenting a prototype that offers a logical innovative approach to relieving shoulder pain and restoring function.
The approach, variables and goals are as follows:
The four direct, four supportive, and arguably up to a dozen muscles that contribute in some manner to shoulder movement must be worked and developed as one unite and in the manner they were designed to perform. The variables of arm height, horizontal positioning, the direction and speed of movement, and carry weight (moving an object from one location to another) must be addressed. The final variable that must be addressed is the necessary twisting of the hand/arm while performing a task.
The second part is patient oriented. The movements must show notable improvement over any current machine or approach in terms of safety, effectiveness, efficiency, adaptability, and ease of use.
Three major improvements
1) Increased circulation with targeted blood flow.
2) A Return to perfect shoulder muscle balance (resulting in shoulder stability, optimum function, and the lessening or total elimination of pain)
“Muscle imbalance is known to be a major cause of both injury and pain”. Varying degrees of imbalance occurs due to degeneration/age, lack of use, overuse, accident, or disease. As our bodies change, what was once perfect muscle balance is now an over-correction on itself, with the more dominant muscles doing the work of weaker ones. Limitations in movement and pain soon follow.
3) Valid data collection.
The physical data collected will have a single interpretation and the data will remain applicable for numerous upper-body studies. All settings are numbered, and all variables are addressed.
Movements -
This approach allows for the initial targeting of the weaker muscles with safe, gentle, controlled, repetitive movements, increasing circulation and blood flow, increasing muscle coordination, and then adding muscle mass and strength to the entire shoulder. The machine also fully adapts to a person’s individual limitations and adjusts to meet their every goal.
Basis:
Understanding the starting point is an absolute must.
Pedaling using only one leg is an exercise used in competitive cycling for muscle gain, muscle coordination, and the strengthening of all the leg muscles throughout the full 360 degrees of circular movement. I urge you to become familiar with the feel of this exercise before proceeding.
This proven approach is the starting point for a new type of machine.
Prototype
A common machine used for shoulder rehabilitation is the arm ergometer (resistance wheel).
The left handle is removed, and the remaining handle is positioned at 90 degrees, the same as a bike pedal.
Turning the resistance wheel with only one arm means a constant change in the direction of force.
The movements are smooth, fluid, repetitive, precise, and safe.
The amount of shoulder movement is controlled by the length of the shaft that connects to the handle.
The resistance is adjustable.
The entire exercise takes place from an upright seated position.
The position of the resistance wheel can be moved closer or further from the body.
All settings are locked into position before the exercise starts.
The only part of the machine in motion during the exercise is the handle.
“All movements occur in a single circular plane.”
The next improvement is the ability to lock the position of the wheel at any height (from overhead to straight down).
Followed by the ability to position the wheel to any horizontal position within a person's normal reach.
We now can position the wheel anywhere within a person's normal reach, high-low, toward-away, and any horizontal position as desired, and safely exercise the muscles with a dynamic, repetitive, single-plane movement, that rhythmically increases blood flow. There is complete control of the amount of movement, and resistance desired. This is the first step in achieving maximum range of motion with optimum function. Also, note that all the reciprocal muscles of the forward spin are also targeted by simply reversing the spin. Safety is never compromised.
To this point, the machine is an improvement but falls well short of the claims for optimum shoulder rehabilitation.
Next, is the most important part and also one that needs a reference point.
The wheel tilts and locks into various positions, like the hour hand of a clock from 12 to 5 o'clock positions, or if you prefer, like the forward slash on the keyboard, or the tilting of the rings of the planet Saturn.
Tilting the wheel in combination with wheel placement advances all possibilities. Now every muscle involved in the angular plane of that 360-degree dynamic movement is being targeted with every spin of the wheel in the exact manner in which they were designed to be used for that movement.
Gravity machines can only operate in a straight line with a single direction of force. Therefore, a gravity machine can either be viewed as a partial fix, or as a dead end.
This approach operates by circling the shoulder in a single plane using constant resistance and having the direction of force constantly change. Use the standard clock again as a reference and start with the wheel in the normal upright position (12 o'clock position), then tilt the wheel to the 1 o'clock, or 2, 3, 4, 5 o’clock positions and spin the wheel. The shoulder becomes a mirror image of the angular setting at the resistance wheel.
The goal is total muscle balance with the 4 direct muscles, 4 supporting muscles, and arguably up to a dozen lessor role players.
Next, by simply spinning in reverse, all the reciprocal muscles of the forward angular spin are targeted and developed in the same manner.
The final variable is the twisting of the arm during normal movement. Just to draw attention to the simplicity of the machine, the 12 o'clock angular setting of the wheel the palms are face down on the handle, the three o’clock setting has the palm sideways, and the 5 o’clock setting the palms are facing up (twisting of the arm while performing a task in normal everyday use).
All the variables of arm positioning and movement relative to the shoulder are targeted and safely worked to the fullest.
A second, mirror image wheel is added for the left arm. Again, the ability of the machine is expanded to encompass the development and rehabilitation of the entire upper body from the wrist to the neck to the lower back.
How to use the machine. Sometimes the obvious only becomes obvious after an explanation.
Elbow positioning – the most gentle and effective shoulder exercise possible is performed with the wheel in a horizontal position with both the handle and elbow pointed down.
Raising the elbow horizontally results in maximum shoulder involvement and a more intense exercise. Elbow positioning also allows the targeting of the weakest muscles of a movement.
Extremely efficient: each spin of the wheel targets the wrist, forearm, biceps, triceps, shoulder, neck, back, and chest. Again, this machine works and develops all the muscles of the entire 360-degree movement precisely as they were intended to be used and all the reciprocal muscles of that same movement simply by spinning the wheel in reverse.
Pointing out the obvious – safe, simple, gentle, efficient, effective exercise for the aging, or anyone interested in health, wellness, fitness, sports training, upper body rehabilitation, etc...
This is not meant for building magazine-type muscles or powerlifting and will not fit into a narrow aerobic or total strength category.
This is about muscle coordination and a return to complete muscle balance, pain relief, rehabilitation, efficiency, and optimum performance at every level (baseball, tennis, swimming, boxing, golf, etc.). For gym use, changing from one exercise to another will take between 5 and 30 seconds. The setup is simple. Place the wheels where you like, set the angle and the resistance, and turn the wheels.
Again:
Everything works through the shoulder. The single-plane dynamic movement around the shoulder is just a smaller mirror image of the singular-plane dynamic movement of the wheel. If the angle is changed at the wheel, the angle at the shoulder follows.
NEXT:
Three types of spinning (using 2 wheels): each change results in vastly different results for the postural muscles of the back.
For demonstration purposes, the wheel is placed in the horizontal position with the handle pointed down.
1) opposite spinning – both hands are far apart and bringing both hands together. This is just a type of power spin. Something you would see in a commercial gym for maximum muscle gain. Arms, shoulder, upper back, and chest.
2) reciprocal spinning – like pedaling a bike. A rhythmic single-plane rocking motion that targets the postural muscles of the back.
3) same-direction spinning – both hands move in the same direction. A more intense small rocking motion targeting the postural muscles of the back.
Or
Can be performed with both hands on a single resistance wheel (the seat turns and locks into place so that the wheel is directly in front of the person or locks slightly to the side of center depending on the angle setting of the wheel).
***
Back rehabilitation: I never intended to include back rehabilitation in the claims of the machine. My thoughts at the time were that it never really provided anything special.
One day my curiosity got the better of me and I had to find out how the back muscles reacted using the circular dynamic movements while doing a bent-over row. I stood bent at the waist, used perfect form with no resistance, and used very slow movements. Within 15 seconds I was on the ground with back pain that lasted 3 days.
For those three days, I tried to make sense of what happened.
The circular motion of spinning the wheels transfers over to a circular motion around the shoulder (which was already known), which then transfers to a circular motion around the spine, but now the back was in a weakened bent-over position, and I wound up on my knees and in pain.
Back rehabilitation takes on the same pain and movement scenario as the shoulder. Muscle imbalance caused by degeneration/age, lack of use, overuse, injury, or illness will result in pain and injury.
The goals are the same, safe rhythmic circular movement, increased blood flow, achieved postural muscle coordination, strengthening the postural muscles of the back from a safe upright seated position.
The postural muscles are responsible for maintaining posture, spinal alignment, balance, and the twisting of the body. Muscle balance of the back is extremely important because a “momentary imbalance creates a dysfunctional mechanical situation resulting in pain and injury”.
The focus is solely on the postural muscles (both voluntary and involuntary), which are safely targeted from an upright seated position with no bending. The goal is to strengthen and regain the natural muscle balance of the back and spine, thereby lessening or eliminating pain and restoring function.
The movements of the machine provide small controlled rhythmic angular circular movement around chosen areas of the spine. The movements occur in a singular plane, at chosen angles, heights, and resistances.
The reciprocal muscles are also targeted and developed in the exact same manner with reverse angular spinning. All this occurs while safely seated in an upright position.
There have been well over 2200 studies on back pain. This approach offers something new and logical.
The machine is deceptively simple.
This 2nd generation working prototype was created solely to demonstrate that the necessary movements are possible, and the machine is extremely simple to operate. The goal is total muscle balance for the shoulder and throughout the upper body, raise the bar on all upper body physical rehabilitation, and achieve pain-free movement.
