Aid shoulder strength with Quarter Front Raise
Injuries can happen in very strange ways, and seemingly out of nowhere.
A friend of mine ruptured his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) cooking in the kitchen. Another buddy needed emergency back surgery after a golf swing.
It’s a bizarre world out there, and injuries can produce some serious anxiety along the way. This week, I’ll talk a little about how to handle injuries in the moment and how to minimize further damage. Plus, I will share an exercise that can help prevent overhead shoulder injuries.
In August, I took my family boating on our neighborhood lake. We had music, sun and lots of smiles. Toward the middle of the afternoon, everyone was ready for a little bit of shade. The boat has a bimini top that has to be manually hoisted and expanded. The others were all in the water, so I started the process by myself.
It got stuck about halfway through the hoisting, and I was holding the entire weight of the bimini top with only my right arm. I felt some shoulder discomfort but continued to push through the process and was able to get the top situated.
The next day, I could barely lift my right arm. It was sore enough that a handshake would have been excruciating.
I immediately began the RICE method of injury treatment. Rest, ice, compression and elevation helped to reduce pain and inflammation in the joint — but I knew I had a problem.
I started to worry about a rotator cuff tear and how that might sideline my basic usefulness around the house, in the community and with my family. Fortunately it was only a strain, but the pain was serious enough to give me quite a scare.
It made me think about the millions of people who experience this same type of injury-related anxiety, and those who have more serious injuries. I felt nervous after a little pain in the shoulder, so I can only imagine what it’s like for those with ligament tears or broken bones.
I’m not a psychologist, but I’ve felt state anxiety, a temporary but intense fearfulness that focuses on potential harm from a certain situation. I know that state anxiety can be managed to some degree. Reframing is a technique that is often used by athletes when negative thoughts enter their mind. They take negative thoughts or statements and reframe them into something positive.
In this example, I might have reframed a thought like “how am I going to work with only one good arm” to “I’m resilient, I can overcome this.” Reframing is something I didn’t think about in the moment I hurt my arm, but it could have helped reduce anxiety.
The RICE method is a great way to manage an injury in the short-term, and it may have spared me a longer healing period. Resting the injured body part, accompanied with ice, compression and elevation can make a huge difference.
But prevention is the best medicine, and there’s no substitute for joint stability/strength. I’ve been active most of my life, but my shoulder strength has definitely declined over the past year or two. This week’s exercise is something I’ve been incorporating since the injury, and it’s been great.
The Quarter Front Raise can benefit anyone at any fitness level, as it strengthens the deltoid and other supportive muscles in the shoulder joint.
1. Select a pair of very light dumbbells and grasp one with each hand.
2. While holding the dumbbells, stand with your arms outstretched forward.
3. Raise the dumbbells until your arms are straight up overhead.
4. Slowly lower the arms back to the starting position.
5. Continue this pattern for 12 repetitions, 2 sets.
This movement is also great for a warmup or cooldown exercise. The shoulders see a lot of activity inside and outside the gym, so this is a great way to keep then strong, safe and ready to perform. Enjoy!
Director of business development and population health solutions for Quest Diagnostics, Matt Parrott began this column 20 years ago at Little Rock. He has a doctorate in education (sport studies), a master’s in kinesiology and is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine.