00:00By far the shoulder muscle you ask me about the most is the supraspinatus and it really can cause
00:06a lot of problems. There's tendonitis or other types of tendinopathy, bursitis, instability and
00:12even tendon rupture. In this video I'm going to show you the best exercises I know for the
00:18supraspinatus, the best massage, the best stretch and the best strengthening exercises for you to
00:23do at home. But the best part is that you don't even need to be young, thin or very flexible
00:29to
00:29improve your shoulder through proper movement. And let's start with the best massage. This
00:36exercise we're going to do helps relieve pain, relax muscle tension and even improve circulation to
00:43this muscle. And I chose this massage because you don't need to move, you'll do the massage with
00:50your arms still. And this will make it much more comfortable, easier to do, especially when you're
00:58feeling pain. The first step is to find the muscle. You're going to put your hand on the other side
01:04over your shoulder and here with your fingertips you'll feel the bone. That line of bone is the
01:13spine of the scapula. So you found that bone. The supraspinatus muscle sits above it like it's on a
01:20tray. So going back there, you put your hand, found the bone. You're going to move from top to bottom,
01:30pressing slowly. Find the sorest spot or the spot that causes the strongest pain radiating into your
01:39neck or arm. Take it easy. Take as much time as you need to find the worst spot. At this
01:45spot,
01:46you're going to apply gentle pressure because I'm here to help you relieve the pain, not to make the
01:52pain you're feeling worse. Keep gentle pressure for about a minute to a minute and a half. But pay
01:57attention. First tip, you're not going to use force with your hand. Try to relax your arm and let the
02:04weight of your arm maintain the pressure. You'll see that you can hold it for a minute and a half
02:10without getting tired. Second tip, the supraspinatus is a very deep muscle. It has large muscles on top
02:16of it. To help you make deeper contact without needing to use force. Keep the pressure gentle with
02:26the weight of your arm and you will simply make small movements with your head. Look, turn to one side
02:35and to the other. Tilt to one side and to the other. Little by little, you'll see that the outer
02:40muscle
02:40will start to relax. You'll feel your hand sinking in like it's melting into butter. No need to use
02:47force. Keep going like this for a minute, a minute and a half. That's more than enough for you to
02:54reach
02:55the supraspinatus and deactivate that pain point. After a minute, a minute and a half, the pain will
03:02already be much better. You'll feel your whole shoulder much more relaxed. Just release and move
03:09it. Let me know here in the comments what you felt was different. The arm feels lighter, the shoulder
03:15looser, more relaxed. And what a nice feeling in your back. Those traditional stretches don't work for
03:23the supraspinatus. Since it's a deep muscle and it's in pain, we need this stretch to reach deeper
03:32with just a little movement. You'll feel a broader, more diffuse stretch around the shoulder joint.
03:40This exercise will also help relieve the pain and relax the muscle. But pay attention. If you have a
03:47complete tear of the tendon, a total rupture of this tendon, stretching won't help.
03:53Because since the tendon is torn, there's no way to pull and stretch this muscle. Okay?
03:59Grab a chair, preferably a chair without armrests. Hold here on the side, on the seat of the chair.
04:07Relax your shoulder. The effort should come only from your hand.
04:12You're going to lean to the other side until you feel a nice stretch. I don't want you to force
04:17it.
04:17I don't want you to feel pain. When you feel that nice stretch, that pleasant stretch,
04:23you stay here for the duration of one breath.
04:28And come back. The key here is your head position. I know a lot of people who do it like
04:33this.
04:33Look, if you move your head away from the pain, away from the stretch, you're stretching a different
04:40muscle. You're stretching that big muscle, the trapezius, which goes from the neck, from the head
04:45to the shoulder. To do the stretch and target the supraspinatus, keep your head straight the whole
04:51time. Or you can even bring your ear a little closer to your shoulder. You'll feel the stretch
04:58deeper, closer to the joint, to the shoulder joint. One breath. And return. Repeat this 10 times,
05:09or as many as feels comfortable. If by the fifth or sixth time, you're already tired. If you feel
05:15like it's too much for you, just stop. That's your limit for today. You'll see that over the days,
05:20this will improve very quickly. Hey, that's pretty easy. And now let's move on to strengthening.
05:28But Alexandra, how am I going to strengthen if I feel pain when I lift my arm? There's a very
05:34practical,
05:35very easy way for us to strengthen the supraspinatus with the arm almost still.
05:40This exercise we're going to do is an adaptation that Dr. Robson Sita showed on his channel.
05:46A really cool video that talks about strengthening the rotator cuff, those muscles that protect the
05:52shoulder, even using dumbbells and resistance bands. I'll leave the link to Dr. Robson's video
05:57down below in the description. In our case, we're going to need a wall and a pillow or a cushion.
06:05Keep your arm relaxed here next to your body. Put the pillow against the wall and the force will be
06:12to hold the pillow in place. Count to five and relax. The tip here is to apply force only up
06:21to
06:21the point where it doesn't hurt. Just hold the pillow or apply a little more force, but only as
06:27long as it doesn't bother your shoulder. Stay here for five seconds and relax. Alexander, it's very easy.
06:36You can hold the pillow, make small movements with your torso. Look, turn to one side, then the other.
06:41Take a step forward, then back. This way we strengthen. We strengthen different fibers,
06:48different parts of the supraspinatus. Five seconds and relax. It's three sets of eight repetitions or just
06:54do three sets up to whatever feels comfortable. This hair just won't stay in place. It ends up looking like
07:00cebolina. The nerve that controls the supraspinatus comes from the neck, from the cervical spine. And that
07:06quick little stretch you do to relax, to crack your neck can compress or irritate that nerve. You can learn
07:14safe ways to stretch your neck in this video. Just click here on the screen. And for those of you
07:19who stayed
07:20until now who improved with these exercises, I'm giving you the entire sequence of exercises in order without
07:26interruption as a gift. Just hit play and do the full routine with me. I'll stop here. Big hug and
07:33see you next time.
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