Starrett Claims Shoulder Pain Often Stems From Missing Rotational Range Not Injury

What was said

"The shoulder really does 4 things. Arm goes over your head, arm goes out in front, arm goes out to the side, arm goes behind. I should have a rotational window of about 160 degrees. If my hand is here, I should be able to get my hand all the way down to my hip if I was laying on the ground without my shoulder coming forward. And that shoulder coming forward is how your body solves the problem if you can't access that position. That's potentially the mechanism of injury for biceps tears, for labral tears."

Dr. Kelly Starrett explained that many shoulder injuries, including biceps and labral tears, result from compensating for missing rotational range of motion rather than from acute trauma. He emphasized that most people lack the normal 160-degree rotational window in the shoulder, forcing the body to compensate in ways that create injury risk over time.