I just started a new class in a gated community for mature adults in Rocklin, California. We were almost finished introductions when a lady walked in asking for the high intensity interval class. I told her I didn't know about aerobics class but this was a Brains and Balance training class. She quickly asked if she could watch and then decide if she wanted to join.
She and her husband are new to the area and the students, her neighbors, welcomed her. Turns out she is a stoke survivor and is always somewhat concerned about her balance. After introductions, we did a joint mobility warm-up, some vision drills and then some sensory balance activation drills.
Our newcomer had one main compliant; her right shoulder. She couldn't raise it over her head, it pinched if she moved it certain ways. As a nervous system specialist, I immediately thought a pinched nerve, the axillary nerve to be exact, and stopped the class to guide her through a nerve glide.
She hesitantly followed along and struggled with some of the step-by step instructions. She struggled because she didn't know how to move her shoulder blade the way I was asking her. We slowed down and I coached her through the movement. Suddenly she smiled with the newfound, pain-free movement she could do with her arm.
At the end of the class she came to me and said she wasn't sure about joining until I 'fixed' her shoulder. She had been struggling with nagging shoulder pain and limited range of motion since her stroke six years ago. She was amazed and decided she wanted more!
There are no coincidences!
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