Shoulder rehabilitation part II: Anatomy of the Shoulder

To help you understand what's going on when your shoulder (s) complain I thought I'd repeat a nice simple analogy of the anatomy of the shoulder that I came across the other day. Basically and very simply think of your shoulder as a house - so far so simple yes?! The FLOOR of your house is the the top of your arm   - the ball of the humerus. The ROOF of your house is the bony bit you can feel across the top and outside edge of your shoulderblade and the clavicle - what is clinically known as the combined anatomy of the acromion process, coraco-acromial ligament and coracoid process. In between these two is where most of the trouble arises - THE LIVING ROOM! This is essentially the space in which your various tendons, ligaments and bursae live in what is known as the subacromial space. When this space is compressed - you feel pain as the tendons get squashed during certain movements! Sounds familiar? Next week I'll continue with how to address this most common irritation.