Exercise of the Week: PNF Backstroke

My left shoulder has been a problem for me for a long time. When I was young it was very hypermobile, what some people would call "double jointed". I could make the shoulder joint move without moving anything else. I'm also pretty sure when I had my car accident the shoulder was injured along with my neck and spine. It's a frequent source of pain. This exercise has been helping alot lately.

"PNF" stands for Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation and this exercise has this name because the movement is an approximation of a PNF exercise you might be given by a physical therapist.

For me recently, the portion of the motion when you're reaching backwards in external rotation, doing it nice and slowly, has helped me feel my chest muscles opening up and I hadn't realized they were tight. Once your arm turns over and your arm starts circling downward, it's a great stretch for your biceps, a muscle that not easy to stretch.

The way your move your head, first following your hand then turning toward the opposite knee is great for my tight neck too.