The shoulder is one of the most used joints in the body. Throughout a normal day we constantly reach, lift, and carry objects that may result in injuries to our shoulder joint over time. Such injuries can consist of tendinitis, tendon tears (rotator cuff), shoulder instability or even arthritis. This article will explain shoulder pain exercises which can help decrease your shoulder pain.
Anatomy of the Shoulder Joint
When you experience limited mobility when you try to reach for objects overhead and don't have enough motion, these exercises can help:
Pec Stretch
Image of Sleeper Stretch
4. Towel Stretch for Internal Rotation- Put the hand of the shoulder that you are stretching behind your back while grabbing the end of a towel. The opposite hand grabs the top of the towel from behind your head and gently pulls upward toward the ceiling. Only pull until you feel a stretch as it should not be painful.
Strength deficits/impairments in the shoulder can become very common if we don't activate the correct musculature and compensate when we perform our exercises with shoulder pain. The most common weakness we see in the shoulder is the rotator cuff muscles. We often do not perform isolated rotator cuff strengthening at the gym. The rotator cuff is the most important muscle group in the shoulder as this provides the stability for the joint with weakness can lead to instability or possible tears. Here are a couple great exercises for shoulder pain:
Image of ER T-Band Exercise
Image of IR T-Band Exercise
Also if you have recently had a shoulder surgery watch our video on How to Properly Put on an UltraSling 4 or Dressing the Upper Body After an Injury or Surgery
If you are having shoulder pain that will not go away, read more about 5 common shoulder symptoms you should not ignore here. Other related shoulder articles:
When treating patients for shoulder pain, JOI Rehab clinicians typically concentrate on range-of-motion with active and passive mobility exercises. Joint mobilization, which is a hands-on technique to improve mobility of the joints, is another way to treat pain in the shoulder. In some cases, patients will undergo strength training as a way to treat their shoulder pain. Lastly, electrical modalities such as ultrasound and E-Stim (electric stimulation) may be used to remedy the pain.
By: Jared Ernest, PT
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