Rotator Cuff Physical Therapy Exercises

Do you want to get rid of that irritating shoulder pain? Suffering from shoulder injury? That can be healer when you exercise your cuffs. Here are five effective rotator cuff exercises that can help strengthen your shoulder muscles. A word of warning though, if these exercises cause you pain then you must stop immediately.

The rotator cuff exercises are widely advantageous to people who are suffering shoulder injury. It can also be used by people who experience muscle and tendon problems in their shoulders such as the normal wear and tear and deterioration. Such exercise will prevent rotator cuff tendonitis or soreness of the shoulders; it can also prevent you to go under the needle, and will eventually heal your shoulders naturally. Remember to do some warm up exercise for about five minutes.

There are two divisions of rotator cuff exercise - stretching and strengthening. The stretching exercise increases the mobility and rage of motion while also improving your blood circulation which helps in the overall healing of your shoulders. It is recommended that you do the stretching exercises first before going to strengthening exercises.

Do some stretching exercise at least eights times per day. Stretching exercises such as the Posterior Stretch, Overhead Stretch, and Forward Wall Climb can help you progress in your stretching exercises. While strengthening exercises such as the Wall Push Ups and Light Weight Lifting will rebuild your muscle strength.

The Posterior Stretch is for shoulder back stretches. Pull on the elbow of the injured arm and pull it as far as you reach. You can feel the stretch in your upper back as you do this. When you feel the stretch, hold the positive for five seconds then release. Repeat the stretching twice.

The Overhead Stretch works for both shoulders. You have to bend your body at the waist to a 90 degree angle then stretch both shoulders. Hold that position for about 15 seconds then repeat if desired.

In the Forward Wall Climb, you face a wall and extend your arms by walking your fingers up and down the wall. You should attempt to go higher whenever your fingers climb the wall. Go as far as you reach, stop when you feel the pain.

For strengthening exercise, you can do the Wall Push Ups. This strengthens area both in and out of the rotator cuffs, which is very important. It is done vertically instead of the normal push-ups. You can gradually vary your push-up positions as your shoulder strength also improves. Choose from either of these positions -countertop, couch arm, and floor pushups.

Light weight lifting can also be done. Use light weights and do repetitions beginning at 15 repetitions then as you gradually improve your strengthening workout you can go to 25 repetitions.

Make sure to consult your doctor before engaging in any rotator cuff exercises particularly after experiencing a shoulder injury. There are more rotator cuff exercises available online that you can readily follow.

Rotator Cuff Injury Exercises

Are you experiencing shoulder pain? Maybe you've been diagnosed with a rotator cuff injury and possibly even a tear. Or maybe you've just been experiencing a pain in your shoulder that you were hoping would just go away but it hasn't yet. What are your options? Is there a way to naturally heal your rotator cuff? Here are some shoulder injury exercises and tips that, when performed a certain way, can help you heal your shoulder... hopefully without surgery or other intrusive methods.

Improve circulation
Because the shoulder/rotator cuff is a series of small muscles and tendons it receives very little blood supply. Strengthening and stretching exercises increase circulation which promotes healing. Other ways to improve blood flow are through applying heat and massage.

Dealing with pain
Icing will help with the pain, especially right before bedtime. 20-30 minute sessions, as many times per day as needed.

Strengthening exercises
The rotator cuff is a complex series of small muscles, tendons and bones. These muscles respond best to higher reps and lower weight. Reps should be higher... in the 12-15 rep range to start. As your shoulder gets stronger, eventually the reps can reach the 20-25 rep range.

Instead of trying to explain these exercises, I suggest visiting this web site that has many clear pictures and good descriptions of each exercise. You can find them at http://familydoctor.org/handouts/265.html.

Get on a proper healing program
The good news is yes, you can heal your shoulder if you follow the proper rotator cuff injury exercises. But randomly performing a set of exercises from the internet without the detailed instruction of an expert in shoulder rehabilitation will probably make your injury worse. It's important that these exercises are performed in a specific way and a specific order depending on the extent of your injury.