If you have pain or stiffness in your shoulder orrotator cuff, at-home shoulder-strengthening exercises may help. The shoulder is a ball and socket joint made up of different bones, muscles, and tendons that allow your arm to move in different directions.
The rotator cuff muscles stabilize the shoulder and control the arm, but they are prone to inflammation,tears, and repetitive stress injuries.Strengthening these muscles can help prevent shoulder injuries. Your healthcare provider may also suggest exercises to help you heal after an injury or surgery.
Check with your healthcare provider before you start doing these exercises. A visit or two with your local (oronline) physical therapist can help you make sure you’re doing the exercises properly and they’re safe for you.
Strengthening Your Shoulders
Yourrotator cuffconsists of a group of four muscles. They perform several functions, including:
Generally, these muscles act as dynamic stabilizers while you are lifting your arms up and away from your body.
Rotator cuff pain, weakness, or stiffness is common in young athletes and middle-aged adults.
Sports that require moving your arms over your head, like swimming, baseball, or tennis, and occupations that require repetitive overhead motions, such as hanging wallpaper, construction, or painting, increase your risk of rotator cuff injuries and shoulder pain.
Common shoulder problems include:
These problems can limit your range of motion and keep your upper body from functioning as it should. Working to keep your rotator cuff muscles strong may help you avoid these problems.
Stronger rotator cuff muscles are better at supporting your shoulder joint and are less likely to become injured. When you regularly stretch these muscles, they also become more flexible. Flexibility improves your range of motion, which can also help prevent injury.
Prone Bent-Arm External Rotations
Side-Lying External Rotations
Emptying Cans
Cross-Body Shoulder Stretch
Child’s Pose
Doorway Stretch
Pendulum
Increasing Intensity
Rotator Cuff Exercises With a Resistance Band
Summary
Shoulder exercises can help your rotator cuff muscles become stronger and more flexible. This can help prevent injury and improve problems like rotator cuff tears and shoulder bursitis.
It’s always best to begin an exercise routine slowly with easy exercises. As time goes on, you can add weight to increase the intensity.
Anatomy of the Human Shoulder Joint
5 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Shoulder pain and problems.
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Shoulder pain and common shoulder problems.
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Rotator cuff and shoulder conditioning program.
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Shoulder impingement/rotator cuff tendinitis.
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