Shoulder pain has a way of creeping into your life. Sometimes it builds gradually. Other times it flares up after something small — putting on a jacket, reaching overhead, doing a push-up.

You stretch it, rest it, maybe get it massaged. And for a while, it settles. But then it comes back, or moves somewhere else. That’s when people start to wonder if something’s being missed.

In my experience, there usually is.

The big shift is this: your shoulder may not be the problem at all. It might just be where the body is showing the strain. The real issue could be coming from somewhere else entirely.

Why focusing only on the shoulder often doesn’t work

Most treatments for shoulder pain go straight to the area that hurts. You’ve probably seen this yourself — a tight muscle gets massaged, a rotator cuff gets strengthened, or a frozen shoulder gets injected.

Sometimes that works. But often, it gives short-term relief, and then the pain returns. Maybe in the same spot, or somewhere nearby.

The trouble is, we’re treating the shoulder as if it exists in isolation — like a faulty part to be repaired. But your shoulder doesn’t float in space. It’s connected to everything else: your spine, your hips, even the way your feet hit the ground.

If the posture underneath the shoulder is out of balance, the shoulder has to compensate. It changes position. It works harder. It gets overloaded. And over time, that compensation turns into pain.

What I look for when someone comes in with shoulder pain

When a client walks into my clinic with shoulder pain, I absolutely want to know the details — how it started, what movements aggravate it, how long it’s been there. But I don’t stop there.

I step back and look at the bigger picture.

That includes the position of the shoulders, of course — whether one is higher than the other, whether they round forward. But I also look at what’s happening underneath. Is the upper back slouched? Is the pelvis tilted? Are the hips rotated or uneven? Are the knees collapsing inward or the feet pointing out?

When the body is out of balance, the shoulder doesn’t stand a chance. It ends up taking on jobs it was never designed to do. That’s why it keeps getting irritated — not because it’s weak, but because it’s overworked.

The difference with a whole-body approach

A lot of clients come to me after trying everything else — massage, physio, strengthening, even surgery. What they often tell me is that the results didn’t last, or didn’t help at all.

That’s usually a sign that the root cause wasn’t addressed.

The real fix isn’t just to treat the shoulder. It’s to bring the whole body back into balance so the shoulder can move the way it was meant to — without having to brace, compensate, or fight against misalignment further down the chain.

And no, that doesn’t mean trying to “stand up straighter” or constantly pull your shoulders back. That kind of forced posture just creates more tension.

What works better is to realign the body through specific, targeted posture exercises — ones that help the joints stack up the way they’re supposed to, and get your muscles working together again.

A simple place to start

A posture correction exercise I often give to clients with shoulder issues is something called Static Back. It looks basic, but it works by helping your spine, pelvis, and upper back realign naturally — without forcing anything.

It’s a great way to take pressure off the shoulders and reset the posture they’re sitting on.

If you’d like to try it, here’s how to do it:

[Instructions for the Static Back exercise]

This isn’t a magic fix, and it won’t solve every case of shoulder pain. But if your posture is even partly involved — and for most people, it is — this can be a powerful first step toward real, lasting relief.

 

Written by Ameet Bhakta
Posture Specialist | Health Through Posture
Clinics in London, Tunbridge Wells & Online
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