Shoulder injuries and pain can cause you to lose arm mobility making it difficult to do even the simplest activities. This can make everyday life much harder. Thankfully, there are many physical therapy exercises for shoulder pain that you can do with your therapist to treat shoulder injuries. In this brief, we will talk about the most commonly used shoulder therapy exercises in detail.
Physical Therapy Exercises for Shoulder Pain
Here are some of the easiest and most effective shoulder therapy exercises that you can do yourself or with your therapist:
Across The Chest Physical Therapy Exercise for Shoulder Pain
Across the chest is a great exercise to do while sitting at your desk or during your morning stretches. Simply bring your arm across your chest and hold it in place for a minute with your other hand. Repeat this with each arm 2-3 times. This will help relax and strengthen your shoulder muscles.
Doorway Stretch Physical Therapy Exercise for Shoulder Pain
For doing a doorway stretch, you need to stand in a doorway with your elbows forming a right angle. Then you need to press the palms of your hands into the doorway and step one foot forward.
In this position, you should lean forward and use your core muscles to stay steady. Doing this with each foot multiple times will help strengthen your chest and shoulder, promoting recovery and preventing future injuries.
Pendulum Physical Therapy Exercise for Shoulder Pain
The pendulum is another exercise you can do easily while sitting in a chair at your office or home. Rest one of your hands on the back of your chair and let the other one hang down loosely. Then circle the loosely hanging hand anti-clockwise and clockwise a few times.
Do this with both your hands to help relax your shoulder muscles, build strength, and stretch tightened muscles. The pendulum exercise is great for promoting flexibility in your shoulder.
Neck Release Physical Therapy Exercise for Shoulder Pain
Dip your head gently until your chin touches your chest, and you can feel the muscles at the back of your neck stretching. Now gently lift your head a bit and tilt it to a side until you feel the neck muscles on the opposite side stretching. Do this with both sides to help relax and stretch your shoulder and neck muscles.
Joint Mobilization
Joint mobilization is an exercise that should only be done with a professional therapist as they have a thorough understanding of anatomy. In this exercise, your therapist will improve your shoulder mobility by stretching your joint capsule. This helps increase the mobility in your shoulder, making it a good treatment for conditions such as strained muscles or frozen shoulder.
Final Thoughts
Shoulder injury, like back pain, is a very common type of injury. With professional physical therapy treatment, you can get back the strength and mobility in your shoulder in no time. Just be sure to listen to your therapist and follow the exercise regime diligently to ensure the best results.
If you need physical therapy but cannot make the commute to a clinic, Kinito Physical Therapy offers at-home service. To book an appointment with our CSCS or Manual Therapist at your home for a therapy session, contact us at (405) 633-0783 or drop us an email at contact@kinitopt.com.
