How can a percussion massage gun help an inflamed AC joint?
If your AC (acromio-clavicular) joint is constantly bothering you there is normally two things at play…
(i)Poor thoracic and shoulder posture can increase the forward tilt of you shoulder blade, causing torsion on the AC joint,
or (ii) if your SC (Sterno-clavicular) joint is jammed up, The AC has to move more to compensate and can become hypermobile and inflamed.
This video shows one of the best new ways to loosen up the SC joint again.
But don’t forget the cause!
Just be aware that probably the most common way to jam u a Sc joint in the first place is with a poor sleeping position. If you lay on your side and roll forward too much your collar bone is pushed forward into a bad position for your Sc joint. If you lay that way long enough the SC joint can become chronically restricted. To avoid this poor sleeping position, make sure you don’t bend your top knee more than your bottom one as this will encourage the body to roll forward. Hugging a pillow can help too.
Which massage machine tip should you use for an SC joint?
The inner end of the collar bone where it attaches to the sternum is quite bony so when you are using the gun over the Sc joint make sure you are using the soft, hollow tip or you may irritate and inflame the joint. The only other option is using the foam ball but ONLY on its side to dampen the effect.
What else can you do with the massage gun?
The massager can also be used to massage the Pec major, the Pec minor, and even the sterno-manubrial joint (SM) which can become restricted due to poor posture. If the SM is jammed it can affect the movement of the SC and Ac joints.
Don’t forget that strengthening and activating your Lower Traps & Serratus Anterior can help improve the position of the shoulder blade for the Ac joint, so check out my video on how to do that too.
Stefan Becker
Barcelona Chiropractor