Integrative Myotherapy

How Abdominal Strength Improves Shoulder Function

A follower reached out and asked how abdominal strength improves shoulder function.

Let’s elaborate.

Strengthening your abdominals improves your ability to extend and rotate your upper back, allowing your shoulders to retract, depress, and upwardly rotate more easily. Meaning they can sit back and down, and you’re able to lift your arm more efficiently.

Poor upper back flexibility can lead to compensation patterns in the lumbar spine, shoulders, and neck. The lower back needs stability, while the upper back requires mobility.

I recently assessed a client’s neck as they mentioned they had been suffering from chronic tension and restricted range. They also said Osteos had been unable to mobilise their neck of late. We trained their abdominals intensively and reassessed their neck. The improvements were remarkable, and we were able to perform grade 4 mobilisations with ease.

The catch: they are only a few months post lower back surgery.

I’ve often noted that people with chronic shoulder injuries and neck dysfunction generally present with lumbopelvic dysfunction. Erik Dalton, Ph.D. in his textbook Dynamic Body, stresses the importance of “Levelling the Head and Tail” — correcting lumbopelvic imbalances in the lower body first in order to properly resolve dysfunction up in the shoulders, neck and jaw. This is especially true for functional and structural scoliosis.

While I haven’t studied Paul Chek’s work, this video is highly relevant for today’s training populations. Chek has a 40-year background in training athletes and practitioners.

Recent X-rays from clients suffering from lower back pain. (Posted with permission).

Note the reduced disc height at L5-S1 compared to the relatively preserved heights at L2-L5. L5-S1 is generally a problematic area for the majority of the population.

All presented with overdeveloped quads and hip flexors, and weakness of the abdominals, glutes and hamstrings. But it’s not as simple as smashing random ab exercises and glute bridges to reverse these imbalances. It requires a high amount of attention to detail, consistency and patience.

One client initially presented with drop foot, the inability to lift their foot. We noticed changes in foot strength as we addressed lumbopelvic imbalances. Luckily, by integrating Chiro and Myotherapy, they were able to restore normal function.

Another was a bikini Pro, and they noted a significant improvement in glute and hamstring strength after just one session of addressing their imbalances. How do you think this new direction will influence their prep? 🍑

All noticed substantial changes in hip flexor range and tone as we addressed their imbalances. The abdominals, glutes, and hamstrings have to work synergistically together to offset the quads and hip flexors. If you don’t prioritise abdominals appropriately, glutes and hamstrings suffer.

Depending on how chronic the case is, it may take some trial and error to begin with. Once you crack the pattern, symptoms can change fast.

What’s very typical with lower back dysfunctions is the loss of glute and hamstring function, which can result in hip, knee, and foot injuries and influence upper-body compensation patterns around the upper back, shoulder, and neck.

It doesn’t matter what your bias is around training. Anatomy is anatomy, and the body will demand you listen to it if you ignore it.

Two days well spent with the Institute.

One of my favourite techniques was treating spinal stenosis’s side lying ⬆️⬆️

I can attest that this felt great post treatment.

Grateful for the education and being surrounded by brilliant minds 🤍

Spot the elephant in the room?

The right leg imbalance is the result of overtraining quads post ACL reconstruction, which has now resulted in another knee injury. Thankfully, it’s not another ACL.

Rather than reversing the Q-angle, which is a major contributor to knee injuries, quads are typically the focus post-op, which will increase the Q-angle and lead to recurring knee injuries if not approached appropriately.

The Q-angle is the angle at which the quads meet the patella compared to the line formed by the ligament attaching the patella to the shin.

The focus is now on improving abdominal, glute, and hamstring strength to address the underlying cause of the imbalance.

We observed substantial improvements in passive knee hyperextension when abdominal strength was improved. This also contributed to improving glute and hamstring strength.

Congrats to on his recent success at the U23 BMX Racing National Champs. He came a very close 2nd, had the fastest gate time in the U23’s and 5th fastest overall, including seniors. It’s a great outcome, considering he’s missed the past 2 Nationals due to injuries.

Programming becomes fun and challenging when you’re improving performance and reducing injury potential simultaneously.

Let’s see what the next 4 years can bring..

Adding deeper layers to the approach.

Never stop learning.

Some recent results working with my good friend . This was after 1 soft tissue session and a week of stretching and rolling.

The follow-up appointment we focused on improving range using corrective exercises which provided even better results.

He noted vast improvements in breathing and posture within the week.

Thanks to for the headshots.

Love your work 🙌🏻