Dana Santas, known as the “Mobility Maker,” is a certified strength and conditioning specialist and mind-body coach in professional sports, and is the author of the book “Practical Solutions for Back Pain Relief.”
When your shoulders ache or feel stiff, your first instinct might be to stretch or massage them. But the real culprit behind most shoulder problems isn’t surface-level tension — it’s more often a lack of shoulder blade stability.
Office workers, professional athletes and older adults face scapular stability challenges for different reasons — prolonged sitting, repetitive overhead movements or age-related muscle weakness, respectively — but the solution involves the same fundamental approach: strengthening the muscles that stabilize and move your shoulder blades.
This article is the fourth in a five-part series on the power of strength training to relieve pain and create ease in movement. We’ve explored how your nervous system positively responds to building strength, your obliques create spinal stability and your inner thighs support your lower body.
Now, we’re focusing on your scapulae — your shoulder blades — and why strengthening the muscles that support them is crucial for healthy shoulders, better posture and a pain-fre
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