January...must be time for Physical Therapy again! (long)

[Catrin]

I also have issues from tight scalenes and first rib that strongly impact that shoulder, and I am always looking for ways of addressing it. If you know of any exercises/stretches please let me know. I know that some recommend using a small lacrosse ball to help mobilize that first rib but Bill thinks in my case that will cause the scalenes to contract. He gave me a stretch that I do with a sheet but I am not very coordinated/effective with it. My left shoulder/neck/back is just a mess...

[OakLeaf]

Well, basically what I've been doing is the one stretch where I put my palm on the wall just below shoulder level, fingers pointed down and elbow slightly bent, and then turn my whole body away from the arm. Then hands and knees, rolling a 7" foam ball around with gentle pressure, trading side to side occasionally. And stretchy tubes anchored to a door, but rather than doing rows in a plane, I take my shoulders through an arc at three levels, high, middle and low, trying to move my scapulae through as much of their ROM as possible in every direction. I don't know what that's even called, but if I run across a video I'll post it.

I'm getting as much benefit from tweaking my sleeping position as anything I do during the day. I'm not using a pillow at all now, except that I have a U-pillow that I put the arms on either side of my head like a chock to keep my head from rolling side to side. Before I go to sleep I lift my head with my hands to put my neck in abduction and slight flexion. That's really helping with the kyphotic upper back/excessively lordotic neck syndrome. And sleeping with my shoulders externally rotated - elbows to ribcage bent 90° and palms up - though I'm not holding that one so well yet, and I'm often waking up with my shoulders internally rotated. That, plus a pillow under my butt to fill in the hole until I get a new mattress. Which ticks me off because the mattress I have is not that old.