The Best Frozen Shoulder Exercise?

If you have injured your shoulder and it has been determined by a physician to be a rotator cuff strain or possibly even a small tear, there are some easy exercises for rotator cuff injury patients. To begin with, roll up a medium sized bath towel and place it under the affected arm and bend the elbow to ninety degrees. Next, hold one end of a long straight stick (a broomstick works well) with the uninvolved hand and place the opposite end in the affected side’s hand. Now gently push your involved hand (the one attached to the hurt shoulder ) out to the side while maintaining the 90 degree angle. You should feel an achy discomfort in the front and rear of the shoulder, but not sharp pain. Try to hold this stretch for 5 or so seconds and then relax and return to the starting position. This is also a good exercise for frozen shoulder as well.

The next exercise is the pendulum arm swing. If you have a small rotator cuff tear injury then this exercise is best done every 1-2 hours to keep the joint capsule and soft tissue pliable and from tightening up. Simply bend over at the waist about 60-70 degrees in order to let the hurt arm hand down. The good arm should be braced on a chair or table simultaneously. Begin rotating your torso in order to get your arm swinging in circles – first clockwise, then counter clockwise. Picture a watch on a string. This is how your arm should be relaxed and swinging throughout this rotator cuff exercise.

Among the most important and effective exercise for rotator cuff injury is the “scapular pinch”. With this exercise we are trying to strengthen the shoulder blade muscles. They are extremely important because they provide the base of stability for the whole shoulder complex. To perform the exercise simply pinch the tips of your shoulder blades together and hold for 6-8 seconds. Repeat this for 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

These are just a few effective exercises for rotator cuff injury. There are many more such exercises that are necessary to gain full range of motion and strength. Read the Ultimate Rotator Cuff Training Guide to discover the most effective exercises for pain relief and function.