Do you have shoulder pain when you reach overhead?
Do you avoid exercises at the gym because your shoulder hurt?
Does your shoulder hurt when you get out of bed in the morning?
If any of these describe you, then you’re in a similar situation to many of the patients we see at Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine. The main muscles that control your shoulder are your rotator cuff. Shoulder pain with reaching and lifting is often caused by a sudden strain or repeated overuse of the rotator cuff. Weakness in your shoulder blade muscles and poor posture can also cause increased strain on the rotator cuff and cause pain.
The good news is there are simple exercises you can do to heal injured muscles and tendons, improve your strength and flexibility, and get out of pain.
Pec Stretch
Your pec muscles are located on your chest. They connect your shoulder and shoulder blade to your rib cage. These muscles can get tight from sitting with your shoulders rounded forward. Once they get tight, they can limit the ability of your shoulders to move correctly, compressing on the rotator cuff. This causes pain, inflammation, and degeneration of the rotator cuff tendons.
Hold this stretch for 30 seconds and do it 3 times on each side. Do this twice a day for maximal effect.
Shoulder external rotation against a wall
This exercise builds muscle memory and shoulder blade strength by making you use your shoulder blade muscles to keep your chest open. Don’t use any weights the first time you do this.
Stand with your back against a wall and keep your elbow touching the wall the whole time you are raising your arms. At the top of the movement, you should touch your wrists to the wall.
Hold for 5 seconds at the top and then come back down. You should feel the muscles between your shoulder blades working.
Always do this after you stretch your pecs first or you will have a tough time getting into the top position. Do this every other day. Start with 2 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions. As it gets easier, you can increase the number of sets or add a 1 pound weight.
Shoulder abduction
This exercise is a great way to build strength in the supraspinatus, one of the rotator cuff tendons. It also reinforces the prior 2 exercises by making you keep your chest open while lifting your arms.
Make sure your elbows are not in front of your shoulders when you do this. That makes you keep your chest open and avoid tightening your pecs back up. Pause for 1 second at the top, then lower back down.
Start with 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps. If there is no pain, or it feels easy, you can add a 1 pound weight. Some mild pain is ok, but it shouldn’t make you grimace.
Don’t increase the weight more than 1 pound at a time or you can overdo it. Do this exercise 3 days a week to get the best response.
None of the exercises above should make you hurt more. If you’ve tried these and you’re still hurting, we can help you!
At Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine, our physical therapists are experts at treating shoulder pain and will develop a plan to help you stop it.
Call us at 703-299-3111, or click here and a member of our team will schedule you an appointment with one of our expert physical therapists.
What happens if you don’t try have a plan to stop your shoulder pain?
- Your workouts suffer because your shoulder hurts
- You avoid playing with your kids because your afraid of hurting your shoulder
- You get out of shape and are more likely to get other diseases and injuries
But WITH a plan to stop shoulder pain you can live the life you want again.
The exercises above are a great way to get started. They don’t require a ton of time and are pretty easy to do correctly.
But if you want an expert to listen to your unique problems and guide you to success, a Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine physical therapist will create a plan specifically for you.
You’ll feel confident that you have the knowledge and ability to stop shoulder pain and do all the things you want.
Call us at 703-299-3111, or click here to schedule your appointment and start your path to healing.
Working to keep you living your best life,
The Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Team
