Shoulder blade pain recovery guide
Shoulder blade pain: a 12-week program that starts where stretching stops
If stretching only helps for a while, you don't need a better stretch. This 12-week video program helps you find the one first-aid movement that changes your pain, then builds the neck, midback, shoulder, and core support so you are not relying on a stretch.
Who this is for
Does this sound like you?
- A deep ache or sharp pain around the inner edge of your shoulder blade, for months or years.
- Stretching, foam rolling, and massage feel good for a few minutes, then the pain comes right back.
- Long days at a desk bring it on like clockwork.
- Reaching, sitting, or raising your arm overhead sets it off.
- You're in decent shape, but this one nagging problem keeps coming back.
One rule: any symptom that travels down your arm or into your hand is a stop sign, not something to push through. The program caters to people having more trouble than most, and still gets challenging by week 4 if you are generally active.
The problem
We don't need stretchy
Most people do not get better from the care they get because nobody found the right first aid first. Stretching buys you a few minutes; it does not change what has been bothering the shoulder blade.
What this program does instead
Remove the negatives, add one positive.
For about a week, stop whatever has been bothering the shoulder blade: stretching, lifting overhead, sitting. Then add one first aid that tests out as a 30 to 50% improvement on a movement that normally hurts.
Treat the body as one ecosystem.
A lack of mobility, support, or strength in the midback, core, or neck can show up as shoulder blade pain. Three of the six first aids are neck movements.
Build the support so the relief sticks.
With the pain turned down, breathing, midback, shoulder blade, and core work go on top, then real loading. No passive rest, no cracking backs, no stretching for its own sake.
Comfortable, just effortful
Nothing in this program goes to failure
Loaded movements are dosed by pain-free reps at a challenging weight or by your own perceived effort. The program never asks for 100%: around 80% is where failed reps and bad form start, and you stop well before that.
What's inside
Twelve weeks, four phases, 58 videos
12-week online course
Weekly lessons with written circuits, sets, reps, hold times, and days per week
58 videos
Exercise and first-aid demos, 5 follow-along neck, midback, and movement flows, 4 classroom lessons, and the week 4 check-in
Six first aids to test in week 1
Chin tucks, look ups, armpit sniffs, triple dipper, time out frog, end range shoulder extension
Week 4: optional session offer
A one-time discounted 60-minute video session with our team to check your exercises (not included)
Phase 1, weeks 1 to 2
Cool everything down
- Test the six first aids in order. A 30% or better improvement on a movement that normally hurts means you found yours; stick with that one for the week
- Dose it through the day: 20 reps every couple of hours until you hit 100 or so, or a minute or two every hour for the hold positions
- 10-minute walks through the day, up to an hour of walking, which every week from week 2 asks for
Phase 2
Mobility, stability, and support
- Crocodile and 90-90 breathing, low kneeling midback extension, serratus prayer, cat cow, low bear, half kneeling halos, side bridges, crawling, table tops
- Daily circuits from short blocks: each circuit under 20 minutes, about 20 to 35 minutes a day at this stage, five days a week
Phase 3, from week 4
Strength where it's needed
- Half kneeling overhead presses, banded rows, shoulder hinges, farmer's, rack, and suitcase carries, birddogs, goblet squats, bear rows, split squats, kettlebell deadlifts
- Weeks 6 to 8 drop to three sessions a week, never to failure
Phase 4
Return to what you've been avoiding
- Midback and movement flows, push-up progressions, hard style planks, pull downs, plank lateral drags, stork hinges, oxidative split squats, three point pulls
- The end-of-program check: can you push, pull, carry, squat, and hinge, and are you back in the activity you wanted
How it works
How it works
Week 1: find your first aid.
Test the movements in order, keep the one that gives a 30% or better improvement, and dose it through the day for 5 to 10 days.
Week 2: start the circuits.
One session a day of short circuits plus a walk, five days a week for most weeks. Don't do more. Do what feels good.
From week 4: add load.
Presses, rows, carries, squats, and hinges build week by week; weeks 6 to 8 drop to three sessions a week.
Week 12: keep the routine.
Finish with a routine you can keep for years and years, and a clear next step if you are not yet back to your activity.
We don't need stretchy. We need feeling nothing, or comfortable.
Why Performance Place
Dr. Sebastian Gonzales, DC is a sports chiropractor and movement expert in Orange County, California who helps active people find relief and return to their activities. A lot of these videos were coached over and over again and recorded over and over again, so the cues you get at home are the ones that work in the room.
Reviews
- Verified ownerJared LJanuary 5, 2022
The first week of the shoulder blade program was the most impactful for me. Weeks 2 and 3 were great as well but the first week's exercises made me feel really good, especially since the whole last month I was waking up most nights adjusting my pillow trying to find a comfortable position. I had a lot of upper trap tension and an ache around the inner border of the shoulder blade. With just a week of the program, I noticed I was sleeping better and waking up feeling rested. Not being able to get a whole night of sleep was pretty rough. The remainder of the program was a lot of weight lifting and physio exercises that I haven't done before. Some were challenging for me but I was able to do them. Some of the exercises felt awkward and I decided to not do them. I've been doing the ones that worked well 3 days a week and feel much stronger. I'm very thankful for the program. Thanks for making it available online!
- Verified ownerLarry LingJanuary 5, 2022
I recently started to get shoulder blade pain into my right side. It came on as my work hours increased during tax season. Spending 12+ hours on the computer was killing me. I tried to stretch my rhomboid muscles, lats and upper traps. This provided some relief but every day around 1 hr of sitting, the pain would come right back. I even had my wife massage my shoulder and neck at night which helped but nothing stuck. I tried the exercises in the program and I started to notice the area loosening up after about a week, even without massaging or stretching the muscles. I was able to do the exercises about 3 days a week. It suggested everyday but 3 seemed to work for me. The program was clear and structured. I’m in my 5th week and I am able to sleep though the night and sit most of the day without any pain. I can’t wait till this tax season is over! I’d suggest the guide if you’ve tried stretching and massage with no results.
- Verified ownerSagar MandaliaJuly 16, 2021
The first-aid exercises in week 1 helped me reduce the pain in my neck and shoulders dramatically!! I was in agony and someone recommended this guide to me, which I admit, I was hesitant about, but Dr. Gonzales has a way of explaining injuries, exercises, and concepts around your body that really help as you go week to week with this guide. I'm not finished with it yet but it's been a tremendous help a third of the way in, and I've been pain free and moving around a lot more. Thanks for putting an affordable resource like this together!
- Verified ownerDawn HarperAugust 2, 2020
Get out of pain fast! I have recurring issues with pain in my shoulder blade to the point that I cannot turn my head to the left, look up or look down. The piercing pain makes me break out into a sweat and have waves of nausea! I tried google and YouTube for neck stretches and yoga routines, and nothing I found worked. After I did the 3 movements that are in the manual I couldn’t believe how much better I felt, the relief was instant. That first day I had about 50% reduction in pain. By the third day it was 90% reduction. I am so grateful to have found Dr Gonzales. What’s amazing is I didn’t have to spend hours and a lot of money to get better. I got myself out of pain by simple movements I’m an avid runner and fitness enthusiast so I’m super grateful to be rid of this pain and get back to doing what I love!
- Verified ownerAzadehDecember 13, 2019
I suffered with shoulder blade pain for about 9 years and tried everything: Chiropractors, foam rolling, massage, mobility wods, etc. Dr. Gonzales’ shoulder blade guide and all the exercises were honestly life changing. As long as I’m consistent with the chin tucks I don’t have excruciating sharp pain anymore thanks to this guide! It’s so affordable compared to anything out there and it actually works for the long run instead of a few hours of relief I got with anything else.
What you get
What you get
- The complete 12-week course: cool it down, mobility and stability, strength, return to your activity
- 58 videos: exercise and first-aid demos, flows, classroom lessons, and the week 4 check-in, with every new movement demonstrated and cued
- A test-it-yourself first-aid menu, then breathing, midback, shoulder, and core support built into real loading
Informational program. Not a diagnosis, and not a substitute for one.
FAQ
Questions people ask before they start
- Stretching helps me for a few minutes. Isn't that enough?
- That's the tell. On camera Dr. Gonzales calls it the biggest misconception: people say it doesn't feel stretchy. We don't need stretchy. Week 1 finds the one first aid that changes your pain, then the program builds the support so you are not relying on a stretch.
- How much time does it take?
- Week 1 first aid is spread through your day in small doses. From week 2, one session a day, five days a week for most weeks and three in weeks 6 to 8: about 20 minutes of circuits in week 2, rising to 45 to 55 minutes in the middle weeks, plus the hour of walking a day the program asks for.
- Do I need equipment?
- Weeks 1 to 2: a chair, a stick or dowel, and optionally a light loop band. Buy exercise bands and small loops before week 3, and use a kettlebell, dumbbell, plate, or book for halos. The week 10 to 11 pull downs want a heavy, thick band, or a cable machine. Week 10 deadlifts are written at 25 to 55 lb and week 12 suitcase carries at 10 to 25 lb.
- Is this a quick fix?
- No. First aid usually takes 5 to 10 days of reps and reps and reps to turn pain down, and the goal of the 12 weeks is a routine you can keep for years. Nothing should hurt: comfortable, just effortful.
- What if the first aids don't work for me?
- Some people will find none of them work on their own, and as Dr. Gonzales says on camera, this is the reason why places like ours are in business. Week 4 has a one-time offer for a discounted 60-minute video session to check your exercises, and one-on-one sessions can be booked at any point; they are not included in the price.
- Is coaching included?
- No. This is self-guided, for people who would rather do the work from home with a clear plan. One-on-one video sessions are available separately.
Stop chasing the stretch. Build what keeps the pain away.
One first aid to turn the pain down, then the neck, midback, shoulder, and core support that makes the relief stick.