For athletes such as volleyball players, baseball players, wrestlers, and football players, the shoulder is an incredibly important part of your body as an athlete. In fact, we can't do a whole lot without it.
In Major League Baseball, the torn labrum and torn rotator cuff are two of the most common injuries that professional athletes see today. In fact the torn labrum is the number one injury that baseball players face.
source: https://www.joionline.net/trending/content/what-labral-tear
Here are a couple of exercises that you can add into your repertoire that's going to help protect, strengthen and sustain your entire shoulder joint so you can better perform in your sport and sustain your body throughout your career.
Bowtie
- Lying down on your belly, place your hands and elbows on the ground, underneath your shoulders forming a 90 degree angle
- Hands and fingers are pointing forward
- The tops of the feet are down to the ground
- Right hand comes to the left elbow, left hand comes to the right elbow
- Slowly separate your hands to the sides of your body as far as you can go
- Rest your chin on your bicep
- Gently come out of the pose and do the stretch on other side as well.
- I recommend doing 2-3 minutes minimum of this stretch per side.
Athletes who have large biceps, shoulders, or lats, can have a difficult time with this stretch, and this is an intense, deep stretch that's going to help prevent injuries and be able to help you perform better.
Broken Wing
This is a great stretch for the interior side of your shoulder which is where you'll fin the labrum.
- Bring your chin down to the ground
- Hands out to the sides
- Take your right foot up, rotating on to your left shoulder
- Plant your right foot to the side of your body
- Use your right hand to control how strong you roll on to your left side
- Release your right foot and come back on to your belly, chin on the ground, hands to the side and do the same stretch on the other side
- I recommend holding on to each side 2-3 minutes minimum.
These are a couple of stretches to help you sustain your career as an athlete. Mixed in with a total body routine, you can prevent injuries, recover from injuries and have a healthy body so you can play and enjoy your sport.