MSR Runner’s Maintenance, Part 1: Upper Body
Updated: 4 days ago
A runner’s legs may tolerate the distance while neck tension, shoulder pain, or an increasingly restricted arm swing makes the session difficult to sustain. These complaints deserve attention when they interfere with training, particularly when running provides valued time outdoors, companionship, or personal challenge.
This first instalment examines upper-body contributions to running and identifies practical MSR assessment and treatment priorities. Drawing on my experience in distance running and clinical practice, the purpose is to help practitioners select relevant structures, apply manual care precisely, and connect useful changes with exercise and running tolerance. Maintenance means supporting continued participation as the runner’s needs and training demands evolve.
Article Index:
Anatomy and Biomechanics
Arm swing helps counter the rotational effects of lower-limb movement and coordinates with trunk motion. It reflects both muscular activity and the mechanical interactions of moving body segments.
Experiments restricting arm swing have demonstrated changes in torso movement and, in some conditions, increased energy cost. These findings do not establish one ideal arm swing or show that treating an individual muscle improves running economy.
For clinical purposes, ask whether upper-body symptoms, restricted movement, or limited endurance interfere with the runner’s task.
Deltoids:
Anatomical involvement: Anterior and posterior deltoid fibres contribute to shoulder flexion and extension. Their activity during running does not simply alternate to drive each swing.
Clinical interpretation: Pain during arm movement or limited shoulder excursion may justify examination. Uneven swing alone cannot identify deltoid dysfunction.
MSR treatment priorities: Consider relevant deltoid findings alongside shoulder-joint movement and rotator-cuff function. Reassess the symptomatic movement and running arm swing after treatment.
Pectorals:
Anatomical involvement: Pectoralis major acts on the humerus; pectoralis minor influences scapular positioning. Their relevance depends on the movement and symptoms being examined.
Clinical interpretation: Painful shoulder movement or limited backward arm excursion may prompt assessment of the pectorals and neighbouring structures. Shoulder posture alone does not establish shortening.
MSR treatment priorities: Consider pectoralis major or minor when examination identifies a relevant symptomatic restriction. Connect treatment with active shoulder movement and reassess arm swing.
Trapezius:
Anatomical involvement: Upper, middle, and lower trapezius contribute differently to scapular movement and control, coordinating with serratus anterior and other shoulder muscles.
Clinical interpretation: Neck or shoulder symptoms developing during a run may warrant assessment of cervical movement, scapular function, and endurance. Shoulder elevation alone does not identify trapezius dysfunction.
MSR treatment priorities: Address relevant trapezius, levator scapulae, or cervical and thoracic findings. Reassess the painful movement and connect treatment with appropriate mobility or endurance exercise.
Biceps and Triceps:
Anatomical involvement: Biceps and triceps contribute to elbow positioning and control. Running does not require full elbow flexion or extension during each stride.
Clinical interpretation: Pain, restricted elbow movement, or difficulty sustaining the arm position may justify local assessment. Compare findings with the runner’s symptoms rather than imposing a fixed elbow angle.
MSR treatment priorities: Consider relevant biceps, brachialis, triceps, and elbow findings. Follow treatment with active movement or progressive loading and reassess running tolerance.
Latissimus Dorsi
Anatomical involvement: Latissimus dorsi contributes to shoulder extension, adduction, and internal rotation. Its broad attachments make shoulder and trunk movement useful components of examination.
Clinical interpretation: Posterior shoulder or trunk symptoms, or restricted movement relevant to running, may justify assessment. Limited torso rotation alone cannot identify a latissimus restriction.
MSR treatment priorities: Consider latissimus dorsi and relevant shoulder or thoracic findings. Reassess the affected movement and connect useful changes with reaching, pulling, or rotation exercises as indicated.
Joint Mobility: Cervical Spine, Thoracic Spine, and Shoulder
Upper-body assessment includes joint movement alongside muscle function. A runner may report neck pain when turning the head, thoracic discomfort during rotation, or shoulder restriction that makes arm swing difficult to sustain.
Cervical spine: Assess relevant rotation, flexion, extension, and symptom response. Radiating arm symptoms, altered sensation, or weakness require neurological assessment rather than an assumption of local joint restriction.
Thoracic spine: Examine rotation and extension when trunk movement or arm swing reproduces symptoms. Consider the relationship with shoulder movement without prescribing one ideal posture.
Shoulder complex: Assess glenohumeral movement and scapular motion, with acromioclavicular or sternoclavicular examination when indicated. Distinguish joint limitation from painful muscle loading or reduced strength.
MSR treatment priorities: Selected mobilization or manipulation may address relevant joint findings, according to the examination, contraindications, patient preferences, and informed consent. Reassess the affected movement, then connect useful changes with active mobility, strength, endurance, and running. Greater range alone is not the objective; the change should serve the runner’s functional needs.
Upper Body: Observation and Clinical Interpretation
Observe several strides from the side, front, and behind at comparable speeds. Record symptoms and changes as the run continues.
Arm swing: Is movement painful or restricted? Examine shoulder and elbow movement before attributing asymmetry to a particular muscle.
Neck and shoulders: Do pain or increasing effort coincide with changes in head position or shoulder elevation? Assess relevant mobility, strength, and endurance.
Trunk coordination: Does rotation change with symptoms or fatigue? Consider its relationship with arm swing and lower-limb movement.
Sustained running: Does the limitation appear only after a particular duration, pace, or incline? Reproduce an appropriate demand when assessing the concern.
Use observations to guide examination, treatment selection, and reassessment.
MSR Manual Care and Physical Preparation
Select soft-tissue and joint procedures when examination identifies findings relevant to the runner’s symptoms or limitation. Treatment may involve the deltoids, pectorals, trapezius, latissimus dorsi, arm muscles, or associated joints. Adapt contact, stabilization, movement, and pressure to the presentation.
Establish a baseline, such as painful shoulder movement or symptoms during a suitable run. Reassess whether treatment produces a useful change.
Build on that response with selected shoulder mobility, pulling, rotator-cuff, or upper-limb endurance exercises. Prescribe the dose and progression according to the identified need. Review training demands and recovery when symptoms emerge with longer or harder sessions.
These recommendations combine anatomical reasoning and clinical application. The cited arm-swing studies do not directly test MSR treatment effects or demonstrate injury prevention.
Upper Body MSR Demonstration Video
Dr. Abelson demonstrates upper-body MSR procedures. Select components according to the examination, then reassess the movement or running task that prompted treatment.
Runner’s Maintenance Conclusion: Part 1
Upper-body care becomes useful when it addresses something that limits the runner: painful arm movement, neck symptoms during longer sessions, or difficulty sustaining the required effort. Anatomical understanding helps practitioners select specific MSR procedures, while reassessment determines whether the response supports greater activity.
Maintenance connects hands-on care with the runner’s own preparation and decisions. Build on useful changes through appropriate exercise, review demands as training evolves, and reconsider the plan when progress stalls. The purpose is continued participation in running and what it brings to the person’s life. Part 2 examines trunk capacity and coordination.
References
Arellano CJ, Kram R. The metabolic cost of human running: is swinging the arms worth it? Journal of Experimental Biology. 2014;217(14):2456–2461.
Novacheck TF. The biomechanics of running. Gait & Posture. 1998;7(1):77–95.
Pontzer H, Holloway JH IV, Raichlen DA, Lieberman DE. Control and function of arm swing in human walking and running. Journal of Experimental Biology. 2009;212(4):523–534.
DR. BRIAN ABELSON DC. - The Author
Dr. Brian Abelson is a chiropractor, author, and educator with more than 30 years of clinical experience in musculoskeletal care, rehabilitation, and sports performance. His educational work focuses on musculoskeletal conditions, human movement, sports biomechanics, and evidence-informed approaches to treatment and rehabilitation.
He is the developer of Motion Specific Release (MSR) and Clinical Director of Kinetic Health in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
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