Optimize the arms behind back movement with Lift Clinic’s team of physio, chiro, RMT and strength coaches!
This post will focus on the treatment techniques used to alleviate pain and improve mobility in the arms behind back movement pattern.
The arms behind back movement is an expression of thoracic spine extension and rotation, as well as shoulder internal rotation and extension ranges of motion. We use this movement for things in everyday life such as grabbing our seat belts or washing our backs!
This post is a continuation of our blog series on our full body assessment. If you haven’t already, visit our blog page to learn more about how we assess and treat other movements in the body.
For any given movement pattern, our treatment approach follows 4 primary steps:
- Assessment
Techniques used to test ranges of motion and find the root causes of limitations
- Reset
Hands on treatment techniques used to improve & restore limited range of motion
- Reinforce
Exercises or self treatments that help maintain the gains made from the reset techniques.
- Reload
Exercises that develop strength, resilience, and coordination for the desired movement pattern.
4 reset techniques to address limitations in the arms behind back movement:
1) Thoracic mobilization
2) Soft tissue mobilization
3) Internal rotation mobilizations
4) Intramuscular stimulation (IMS)
What's next?
Hands-on techniques are a great way to alleviate pain and improve mobility. However, without proper maintenance through exercise, the results of these techniques will only be temporary. To lock in these mobility gains, you will need to perform reinforcing and reloading exercises.
On that note, stay tuned for the next post in the series: Arms Behind Back Reinforce
