The definitive guide to neck and shoulder pain when pressing overhead.
Neck pain, Shoulder pain, overhead pressing, Abnormal posture, Posture Dr. Tom Biggart Neck pain, Shoulder pain, overhead pressing, Abnormal posture, Posture Dr. Tom Biggart

The definitive guide to neck and shoulder pain when pressing overhead.

Pain in the shoulder(s) and/or neck when pressing overhead is a common complaint. Is overhead pressing dangerous?

Should you avoid it at all costs like synthetic butter alternatives?

Butter alternatives. Yes.

Overhead pressing. No. 

Why do so many people have difficulty pressing overhead and why are some people scared off from ever doing it?

There are reasons why people struggle to press overhead. We will discuss them and show you how to overcome them to press pain-free.

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Neck and Shoulder Rehab Guide [FREE download].
Abnormal posture, EBM Fitness Solutions, First rib mobilization, Neck pain, Physical Therapy, Posture, Rehab, Shoulder impingement, Shoulder pain, Thoracic hypomobility, Thoracic spine Dr. Tom Biggart Abnormal posture, EBM Fitness Solutions, First rib mobilization, Neck pain, Physical Therapy, Posture, Rehab, Shoulder impingement, Shoulder pain, Thoracic hypomobility, Thoracic spine Dr. Tom Biggart

Neck and Shoulder Rehab Guide [FREE download].

Neck and shoulder pain are quite common. When people are in pain they will seek out any option that might relieve their pain. This makes a lot of sense.

Sadly, most "treatment" options barely work to manage symptoms and do almost nothing to fix the underlying problem.

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Why getting that MRI won't help you get any better.
Ankle pain, EBM Fitness Solutions, Foot pain, Imaging, Knee pain, LBP, Low back pain, Neck pain, Physical Therapy, Rehab, Shoulder pain, X-ray, Diagnostic imaging Dr. Tom Biggart Ankle pain, EBM Fitness Solutions, Foot pain, Imaging, Knee pain, LBP, Low back pain, Neck pain, Physical Therapy, Rehab, Shoulder pain, X-ray, Diagnostic imaging Dr. Tom Biggart

Why getting that MRI won't help you get any better.

MRIs can be very good at detecting certain “problems” in and around the spine. MRI demonstrated high sensitivity for spinal soft tissue injuries. However, MRI showed a definite trend to overestimate interspinous ligament, intervertebral disc, and paraspinal muscle injuries [6].

Don’t get too wrapped up in googling the vocab words above. Here’s part of the problem with the above information. If the doctor is trying to appease the patient by ordering the MRI or the patient has demanded one, they will find something.

Whether that something is the actual problem is another discussion completely.

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The best guide to rehabbing injuries.
EBM Fitness Solutions, Ankle pain, EBM rehab, Foot pain, Knee pain, LBP, Low back pain, Neck pain, Physical Therapy, Rehab, Shoulder pain Dr. Tom Biggart EBM Fitness Solutions, Ankle pain, EBM rehab, Foot pain, Knee pain, LBP, Low back pain, Neck pain, Physical Therapy, Rehab, Shoulder pain Dr. Tom Biggart

The best guide to rehabbing injuries.

At some point you are going to deal some sort of an injury. Maybe you are already have. Maybe you are dealing with something right now.

I am going to walk you through some different ideas as you approach different scenarios or pain and rehabbing injuries.

There are going to be 6 parts to this post, with each part having its own video.

  1. General guidelines for rehabbing injuries.

  2. Post surgery.

  3. Your post-surgery home exercise program.

  4. Chronic pain.

  5. The idea of layers. Fixing one problem often reveals another one.

  6. Modify your approach to sets and reps.

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5 best ways to improve shoulder pain.
Abnormal posture, EBM Fitness Solutions, Personal training, Physical Therapy, Posture, Shoulder impingement, Shoulder pain, Thoracic hypomobility, Thoracic spine, Neck pain Dr. Tom Biggart Abnormal posture, EBM Fitness Solutions, Personal training, Physical Therapy, Posture, Shoulder impingement, Shoulder pain, Thoracic hypomobility, Thoracic spine, Neck pain Dr. Tom Biggart

5 best ways to improve shoulder pain.

These ideas work best for chronic shoulder pain. If you recently hurt your shoulder, I would not start messing with these strategies unless you have been evaluated and they are indicated for your rehab.

All of the strategies will have multiple videos to help guide you through the process. These are strategies I have used with both clients and patients to not just manage but ultimately resolve their shoulder pain.

I am going to go over each in more detail, but the 5 strategies are:

  1. Thoracic mobility - if the t-spine lacks mobility the shoulder and neck try to compensate.

  2. Assisted range of motion (ROM) - if your ROM is limited, use something to help assess and improve your ability to move the shoulder and arm.

  3. Supine exercises - this position helps utilize improved thoracic mobility, supports the body and makes controlling shoulder movements easier.

  4. Rows - rows are shoulder-friendly and most people do not do enough of them - especially those who have shoulder pain.

  5. Isometrics - learning how you can engage the muscles around the shoulder is key to managing pain. These are way harder than they look.

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Are you dealing with shoulder and neck pain? [video]
Abnormal posture, EBM Fitness Solutions, EBM rehab, Neck pain, Physical Therapy, Posture, Rehab Fitness, Shoulder impingement, Shoulder pain, Thoracic spine, Thoracic hypomobility Dr. Tom Biggart Abnormal posture, EBM Fitness Solutions, EBM rehab, Neck pain, Physical Therapy, Posture, Rehab Fitness, Shoulder impingement, Shoulder pain, Thoracic spine, Thoracic hypomobility Dr. Tom Biggart

Are you dealing with shoulder and neck pain? [video]

In many cases, shoulder and neck pain are symptoms and not the actual problem. If only treat the area that is in pain, you will never resolve the issue.

Too often, a part of the body is not properly assessed for its role in the both neck and shoulder pain. The thoracic spine. It is the fancy piece of real estate between the neck and the low back.

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Standing thoracic mobility [video].
Abnormal posture, EBM Fitness Solutions, Neck pain, Physical Therapy, Posture, Shoulder impingement, Shoulder pain, Thoracic spine, Thoracic hypomobility Dr. Tom Biggart Abnormal posture, EBM Fitness Solutions, Neck pain, Physical Therapy, Posture, Shoulder impingement, Shoulder pain, Thoracic spine, Thoracic hypomobility Dr. Tom Biggart

Standing thoracic mobility [video].

Thoracic spine tightness, or hypomobility, is something that plagues most people I meet and almost none of them have any idea it is a problem.

That is because when the thoracic spine is tight, you can have:

  • neck pain and decreased neck range of motion (ROM)

  • shoulder pain and decreased shoulder ROM

  • difficulty sleeping

  • headaches (these tend to be more on one side of the head)

  • and difficulty sitting up straight

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1st rib mobilization [video].
Abnormal posture, EBM Fitness Solutions, Neck pain, Physical Therapy, Posture, Shoulder pain, Shoulder impingement, First rib mobilization, 1st rib mobilization Dr. Tom Biggart Abnormal posture, EBM Fitness Solutions, Neck pain, Physical Therapy, Posture, Shoulder pain, Shoulder impingement, First rib mobilization, 1st rib mobilization Dr. Tom Biggart

1st rib mobilization [video].

Mobilizing the first rib is not something many people know about which is unfortunate. The first rib is right under your collarbone and can be elevated which causes all sorts of issues for the neck and shoulder(s). Check out the video to see how to mobilize the first rib.

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How does posture get so messed up?
EBM Fitness Solutions, Physical Therapy, Rehab, Posture, Abnormal posture, Shoulder pain, Neck pain Dr. Tom Biggart EBM Fitness Solutions, Physical Therapy, Rehab, Posture, Abnormal posture, Shoulder pain, Neck pain Dr. Tom Biggart

How does posture get so messed up?

When I first started as a Physical Therapist, I used to get nervous any time one of my patients came in with any neck diagnosis.

I mean, its the neck. I could snap their spinal cord and the person would never be the same after that. 

Now, that is not true at all, but that is what I thought. What a weirdo.

Once I worked with some of these patients, I started to realize there were commonalities to most of my patients. Once we fixed a few underlying issues, they got better.

Almost 100% of them.

After awhile, I started to look forward to treating any neck issue because the outcomes I was getting were so good.

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