Recap of the Shoulder Health Exercises Class

Just a brief blog entry. 

I wanted to share a few of the slides that I displayed during the PowerPoint because I think they are important.

More mobility = less stability

There is a lot of space in the shoulder joint and the only way that the upper arm bone (the humerus) is attached to the body is by soft tissue (muscles, tendons, and ligaments).

Let's compare the hip joint to the shoulder joint.

As you can see with the x-rays, the hip joint is a 

very stable joint. The acetabulum (in Greek means vinegar cup) sits on top of the femoral head. I have even heard that when the thigh bone is removed from the hip socket it makes a "pop" sound because of the suction. Our body wants the femur to stay in the socket.

When you look at the next x-ray of the shoulder socket, what you may notice first is the largeness of the ball of the humerus (upper arm bone). The cup that that "ball" sits in (the glenoid fossa) is very small and shallow. My teacher describes it as looking like a snow man. Smaller at the top and larger at the bottom.

 What you can see from the center scapula in the picture above is the glenoid cavity (aka glenoid fossa) and how it is shallow and sort of shaped like a snow man. :-)

Knowing what your shoulder joint looks like and how to move it in a healthy way is key to keeping this important joint happy. 

Those that attended the workshop will remember
this video. I really appreciate having all these tools to help me learn what my shoulders are doing while I move my arm bone.

You can probably deduce from the x-ray above, our posture matters. My plan over the next several months is to expand on the original workshop topic of the shoulder joint in this blog and in my weekly Yoga classes. I have learned so much in the last year and a half, and there is so much more to discuss and learn that was not addressed fully in the workshop.

So with that said, I do hope you can attend class at either the PBPN Health Center or the Rossville Community Library very soon!

Questions: yoginiofoz@gmail.com

Take care and see you on the mat!!