I commented a while ago on the notion that you need to do some passive stretching after doing soft tissue work on the musculature of the shoulder girdle. However I have been remiss in actually following that up with any kind of video or article. Today with a number of individuals in pain, it seems that I can’t neglect this any longer. Stretching daily is important. Regardless of whether or not the muscles have been worked. While countless articles have been written on how stretching does nothing whatsoever for preventing injuries or aiding in rehabilitation I am going to stand in protest of such statements. In my personal experience a good stretching regime done regularly has always helped speed recovery for me, as well as done a lot to decrease any kind of movement limitations and daily pain.

Note of course that I think that stretching should come along side of soft tissue work and effective training that fixes muscle imbalances. However the stretching bit, while profoundly simple is still needed.

I suggest holding most of the stretches for 30s-1min, alternating sides and doing each stretch about three times. The actual time limit can be determined best by the person stretching. Don’t watch the clock, rather breathe into a stretch and use it to open up those stuck tissues.