Shoulder pain and stiffness is a common problem people have when they come to see us at Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine. These symptoms commonly occur with reaching behind you to put on a coat or wash your back.
There are 2 reasons this can happen:
- An painful and irritated rotator cuff tendon is getting overstressed when you reach behind your back
- Stiffness in the shoulder joint or muscles is limiting your motion in that position.
Here are 2 easy exercises you can do to address these issues and reach behind your back without pain.
Shoulder abduction
This exercise is a great way to build strength in the supraspinatus, one of the rotator cuff tendons. As the tendon gets stronger, it will get less irritated and make it easier to reach behind your back.
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 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.
Shoulder Internal Rotation Mobilization
This is a great way to improve your ability to reach behind your back when stiffness and tightness are limiting you but it doesn’t really hurt. You should NOT do this stretch if it is painful at all.
An exercise band will be looped around your wrist at the start of the exercise. You can start with your hand around the top of your hip/buttock and work farther across your back as it gets easier.
Once you have your shoulder in the start position, just rock forward and backward as your arm gets pulled away from your back. This will put your shoulder into internal rotation.
Start with small rocks forward and gentle mobilizations. You can get more aggressive with larger rocking movements as you improve as long as there is no pain.
You can also try holding for static stretches of 10 to 30 seconds as long as there is no pain.
If you’ve tried these and you’re still hurting or tight, we can help you!
At Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine, our physical therapists in Alexandria and Springfield, VA are experts at treating shoulder pain and stiffness and will develop a plan to help you stop it.
Call us at 703-672-7169, or click here to request and appointment.
A member of our team will schedule you an appointment with one of our expert physical therapists.
What happens if you don’t have a plan to stop shoulder pain and tightness?
- You avoid playing with your kids because you’re afraid of hurting your shoulder
- You get surgery and end up in even more pain
- You get out of shape and are more likely to get other diseases and injuries
But WITH a plan for to stop shoulder pain and tightness you can live the active life you want again!
The exercises above are a great way to get started. They don’t require a lot 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 703-672-7169, 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
