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How To Fix Chronic Acromioclavicular Joint Pain
The key to fixing an inflamed, painful acromioclavicular (AC) joint involves two things:
- improving the position and movement of the shoulder blade movement
- and releasing the sternoclavicular (SC) joint.
If the shoulder blade sits in a poor position it causes torsion and stress on the AC joint. The more tilted forward the shoulder blade sits the more stress on the AC joint. A tight Pec Minor muscle can cause a forward tilted shoulder blade. But weak muscles around the scapula can add to the problem too.
If you have a restricted SC joint, it will cause the AC joint to move too much to compensate and continually restrain. By loosening up the SC joint it takes pressure off the AC joint. A jammed SC joint is usually caused by the spending time with the shoulder pushed forward. So extending the shoulder back can help loosen the SC joint.
In this video I teach you:
- two different techniques to release your SC joint,
- how to sleep to take pressure off your AC joint
- how to release your pectoralis minor muscle (When it’s tight it create more torsion in the AC joint),
- and the best exercise to strengthen the muscles that hold your shoulder blade in a better position for your AC joint.
Why do we need to change our sleeping habits?
Poor sleeping positions put extra pressure on the acromio-clavicular joint. However, sleeping on your side with your shoulder pressed forward can also jam up the SC joint. So your sleeping position is the first thing that needs to be addressed.
What position tend to aggravate AC joint inflammation?
- overhead positions like shoulder press,
- heavy weights forward or above the body (eg. bench press),
- excessive shoulder extension like in dips,
- and movements across the body.
Stefan Becker
Barcelona Chiropractor
