Are you among the 4.5 million people each year who suffer from shoulder pain due to a rotator cuff injury. Shoulder pain can range in severity from mild to very severe, causing decreased range of motion and an inability to perform even simple tasks such as putting on a shirt, washing your hair, or even raising your arms to drive your vehicle. If this sounds like you or someone you know, then this video is for you. Hi, I'm Dr. Chris Shiflett owner of Trident Elite Healthcare and retired Navy SEAL, and this channel is about helping you promote your health and maximize your human potential without drugs and surgery so that you can live your best life. We're operating out of Heath, Texas, so stay tuned because I'm going to give you the Five Best Shoulder Pain Relief Exercises At Home For Rotator Cuff Injury.
What is rotator cuff injury? To understand this, we first need to address the four muscles and tendons that make up the rotator cuff and those are, the Supraspinatus, the Infraspinatus, the Teres Minor, and the Subscapularis, and the acronym is SITS. Those muscles and tendons come up and they attach to the outside of the shoulder.
There are different levels of tears that occur through either traumatic injury or repetitive injury, and two common reasons that are often overlooked. A rotator cuff injury simply consists of tearing those muscles and as I mentioned, it can be from a traumatic event or repetitive movements over time that cause tearing in the muscles.
Two areas that are commonly overlooked is rounded forward shoulders, so a tightness in the PEC muscles in the front. This leads to a stretching in the muscles in the back that are responsible for stabilizing the scapula, which is an important factor in shoulder Mobility.
The five exercises that I'm about to show you are going to address the tightness in the front, the weakness in the back, as well as help improve the shoulder mobility, and the recovery of the rotator cuff injury. Here we go!
Okay, I’m about to give you the Five Best Shoulder Pain Relief Exercises At Home For Rotator Cuff Injury. Exercise number one; you don't need any weights or any bands to do this one, so it's really great. You just need to make sure that you have full range of motion in the arms, and that you're not going to hit anything as you come down. The first one is called the “YTWL”. You are simply going to place the arms overhead in a wide position, contract the scapula and think about pulling the scapula together as you come down in the T position with your palms facing forward. You're going to hold this for two seconds. From here you're going to pull the arms in and make a “W.” Hold this contracted position for two seconds and then lower into the “L” position. Hold for two seconds. You're going to do that for 3 sets of 10 repetitions, so a total of 30 repetitions.
Next exercise, exercise number two. You may want a very lightweight band to help perform this exercise or even a light dumbbell, two or three pounds is good. You're going to place the band around your foot and in this case, we're going to say the left shoulder is injured. You're going to raise that shoulder up to 90 degrees, you're then going to take your other hand and put the band in the left hand. Then slowly release the tension on the band by lowering the left arm. You're going to do three sets of 10 repetitions, so a total of 30 repetitions. You can take a one-minute break between sets. You're going to perform that twice per day.
The next stretch is going to work on stretching out those tight Pectoralis muscles that cause the forward rounding shoulders. For this one, you're going to need a corner or something, maybe even kettlebells, or something to where you can get a good stretch on the chest. I like to use a corner, they're easy to find. Start with arms up to 90 degrees just like in the “L” position. Simply walk towards the corner, place the hands on the wall, step back a little bit and then lean into the stretch. Once you get a good stretch that does not cause pain, you're going to hold that for seven seconds, relax, hold it for another seven seconds, relax, and then hold it one last time for seven seconds. You’re doing three sets with seven seconds of stretch. You're going to perform this twice per day as well. That was exercise number three or stretch number three.
The next one we're going to do is “Internal Rotation Stretch” of the shoulder. In this case we're going to say it's the right shoulder that is injured. I'm going to take my right hand and place it behind my back. I'm going to take my left hand; grab the wrist of the right hand and I'm simply going to pull with my left arm until I feel the stretch in my right shoulder. Again, you're going to hold this for seven seconds, relax, hold for seven more seconds, relax, hold for seven more seconds, relax. Again, you’re doing three sets twice per day.
The fifth and final exercise that we're going to do is the “Codman Pendulum.” It's been called, “Stir the Pot.” Simply get into a split stance, then you're going to take the left elbow (in this case the right shoulder is injured) and place it on the left knee. You're going to take the right arm with a light dumbbell, two to five pounds, and gently let your arm hang. From here you're going to perform 50 clockwise rotations of the shoulder, letting your arm hang. You don't have to pull the shoulder up. Just let it hang, and perform 50 clockwise rotations, then 50 counterclockwise rotations, which is one set. You're going to do one set, two times per day.
That's it guys, the Five Best Shoulder Pain Relief Exercises At Home For A Rotator Cuff Injury. If you found this video helpful, please like, subscribe, and share. That way we can bring you the latest and greatest at-home exercises, tips, tricks, and strategies to promote your health and maximize your human potential without drugs or surgery, so you can live your best life. Thank you, and until next time we'll see you!
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