10/04/2025
Shoulder Rotator Cuff Muscle Problem:
I had an interesting find with a client with persistent front shoulder pain. He had previously tried other therapy approaches but only had temporary relief before the pain returned.
We identified the muscle involved as his right Subscapularis shoulder rotator cuff—it was very tender and tight (see muscle marked in green).
Now, I will be honest, before I took the NeuroKinetic Therapy (NKT) Level 1 course with the creator of NKT, David Weinstock, back in 2013, my ‘old’ therapy approach would have been to work on massaging and stretching this painful front rotator cuff muscle.
After all, if a muscle feels 'tight', surely that makes sense, right?!
Not in this case!
Using NKT, we assessed the Subscapularis muscle and found it to actually be weak and neurologically underworking (inhibited).
I found a dysfunctional movement pattern in which the rear Infraspinatus rotator cuff muscle was overworking and compensating for the underworking front Subscapularis muscle.
In the NKT Level 1 courses, we teach how to find and treat muscle imbalances. We also teach that a tight muscle = a dysfunctional muscle and that further testing is needed to find out WHY it is tight in the first place!
I could have made the problem WORSE by massaging and stretching the weak front shoulder muscle.
By correcting the faulty movement pattern between these two shoulder muscles, we could treat the cause and not just chase the symptoms.
Simple self-care exercises were assigned to release the overworking rear shoulder muscle and then activate and gently strengthen the underworking front shoulder muscle.
If you want to learn how to become an NKT 'Neurological Detective' and help your clients/patients feel and move better, we would love to show and teach you the philosophy and concepts of NKT in an upcoming course:
PRAGUE: 26-27 April 2025
For more information, go to: https://neurokinetictherapy.com/upcoming-seminars/
