Shoulder Pain: Learn how to Treat and Prevent it!

Your shoulder pain can be attributed to a variety of conditions.

Some of the most common include: Rotator Cuff tears and impingement syndrome, frozen shoulder, overuse injuries and tendonitis from weak muscles.

Whatever the cause of your shoulder pain there are steps that you can follow to treat and prevent further pain from happening.

FIRST:

Restore proper Range of Motion by doing shoulder stretching exercises. These stretches should include the anterior and posterior shoulder girdle.

A good Posterior Shoulder Stretch is to place one arm across your body under your chin just parallel to the ground. Using the other hand gently press it towards your body. Hold for about 10 seconds for 3 to 5 repetitions.

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A good Anterior Shoulder and Chest Stretch is to stand upright with your hands clasped behind your back and gently pull them away from your body while lifting them up. Keep good posture and hold for about 10 seconds for 5 repetitions.

My favorite exercise for frozen shoulder to improve your range of motion and shoulder strength is a Dumbbell Circle.

For this exercise you will kneel with one knee and hand on a chair or bench, the other arm is left dangling holding a light dumbbell. Circle the arm clockwise and counterclockwise for 10 repetitions. Increasing the range of motion as tolerable.

SECOND:

Shoulder stabilization exercises through scapula (shoulder blade) strengthening exercises.

The Elbow Pull is a good exercise to stabilize shoulder muscles. This exercise for shoulder pain can begin to improve your posture and promote healing while preventing further injury to the joint.

Lying on your stomach with your elbows flexed and under your shoulders, lift your chest so your upper body weight is supported on your forearms.

Actively press or pull your body forward with your elbows pressing into the mat and towards your body. Feel the scapulae widen, as well as the chest. Keep the back of the neck long; chin is a fist length from your chest.

The Wall Washer is a good shoulder exercise to work the postural muscles of the upper back helping to stabilize the scapula.

Standing with legs hip width apart, neutral spine and pelvis against a wall. Back of the head, upper back, and sacrum rest against the wall. Walk your feet out away from the wall about one foot and flex the knees slightly. Bring hands and elbows flat against the wall.

Inhale as you slide the elbows and hands slightly up above the shoulders and then exhale as you slide them down. Imagine pulling your elbows down like you are going to put them in your back pockets.

THIRD:

Strengthen the muscles of the whole shoulder girdle complex such as the rotator cuff group to keep shoulder pain at bay.

External Rotation of the shoulder helps to work the muscles of the posterior rotator cuff.

With a light to medium tension stretch band standing with palms up and elbows pulled into your waist and a towel held there by your elbow to open the subacromial space.

Draw your hands apart opening the chest and feeling the back of the shoulder blades draw in toward the spine.

Internal Rotation of the shoulder helps to work the muscles of the anterior rotator cuff.

Use a light to medium tension stretch band looped around a stable object or door handle with your arm at a 90 degree angle level with elbow at your waist and a towel spaced between the elbow and waist.

Pull the band across the body at about navel height feeling the muscles of the anterior shoulder working.