Sue Falsone: Cervical Spine and Shoulder Movement

Shoulder movement should involve more than the shoulder. Sue Falsone looks at the roles played by the cervical spine and thoracic spine.

When we have the shoulder move, we actually get movement all the way down to T-6.

And back down.

As she raises her arm up over her head . . . One more time . . . we have to get what we call ipsilateral rotation (or same side rotation) and extension in cervical-thoracic junction area.

She brings her arm down.

If she puts her arm behind her back, we have to get some flexion and contralateral rotation in that region—so some rotation toward the opposite side and a little bit of flexion.

Bring that arm up again.

Here, we get extension and ipsilateral rotation all the way down to T-6. Behind the back, we get some flexion and contralateral rotation all the way down to T-6.

And rest.

If she does that with both arms . . . Go ahead and flex your arms straight ahead . . . the same thing. We should get movement all the way down to T-6.

And back down.

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If you are interested in Sue’s work with athletes, you can learn more in her book, Bridging the Gap from Rehab to Performance.