8 Exercises to Improve Shoulder Mobility
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- čas přidán 2. 11. 2022
- Today’s video covers the eight movements that are available to the shoulder joint and how much mobility or range of motion you should have with each movement. Deficits in range of motion are often associated with pain and injuries to the joint or surrounding muscles, including the rotator cuff, and can limit one’s ability to complete many daily life tasks.
If you have pain or have suffered an injury and think you may have lost shoulder range of motion, give the movements in this video a try. These movement can also be used as exercises if you notice that you have a range of motion limitation.
My new book contains rehab exercise programs for the 50 most common injuries and pain issues, including several shoulder conditions (rotator cuff injuries, shoulder impingement, biceps tendinopathy, frozen shoulder and labral tears). Click the link to learn more! a.co/d/0HDOdYI
Please remember my posts are intended to be educational and not a replacement for actual care. If you have pain or are experiencing functional limitations, please see your local rehab provider.
@1:02 shoulder flexion
@1:27 shoulder extension
@1:52 shoulder abduction
@2:49 shoulder horizontal adduction
@2:57 shoulder horizontal abduction
@3:35 shoulder external rotation
@3:50 shoulder internal rotation
@4:25 shoulder 90 degrees external rotation
@4:29 shoulder 70 degrees internal rotation
Ty for this!
Thanks so much! 🫶🏽
This was so helpful. I have limited RoM but was able to do most with some discomfort
That sounds good and even though I can do the full range of motion on all the movements you walked us through, on some I feel slight pain and ratchet like sound. Do you have a video that’ll mention what area of the rotator cuff needs work depending what movement feels painful or has limited rage?
Thank you for sharing these exercises, how many repetitions should one do?
I really like this concept of showing the important functions of the joint rather than going straight to prescribing exercises. For me, this was very useful in determining which areas I need to work on, and then learning how to move my shoulder through those ranges. From there it's pretty easy to sort of create your own exercises by simply adding resistance to a given motion, using a band, dumbbell, or just gravity.
Thanks a lot. These exercises are helping a lot to improve my shoulder injury.
Glad to hear that!
Have issues with the last bit where shoulders are at 90 degrees, and we internallt rotate the shoulders. It has become chronic lately. What should I do?
I can do all of these, but I get pinching and tightness/pain (feels like around my mid delt) on some of the external rotations. Any chance you’ll be going over movements to help those (or already have)?
In many cases, the rotator cuff creates pain in the mid-delt region and is activated with external rotation. I would recommend implementing the exercises in my rotator cuff strengthening post.
@@RehabScience Thanks!
Hey, i just wanted to ask I clicked my shoulder joint 2 weeks on the left hand side and I’ve taken a rest from stuff that might restart my recovery process I was thinking how long do u think it will take to recover and do u have any exercises or advice for me?😊
I have a couple of questions about the 70 degrees of internal rotation. I can do that and basically reach the small of my back. My wife can reach up her back to reach between her shoulder blades (upper back). She is younger than I am and much more physically fit than I am, but how far up the back should a person be able to reach? I have had surgery on both of my rotator cuffs. One seems "normal" (10 years ago), but the other is weak a year after the surgery. I don't remember the other shoulder feeling this weak after a year. Also, what role does obesity play in limiting a person's mobility in being able to reach the back? Great video. Thank you.
Thanks loads rlly helps
So glad to hear that these helped!
THANK YOU
You’re welcome
Thank you very much, I've tried the movements today and I have restricted mobility, I will do the exercises until I unlock my shoulders
You're welcome! I hope the exercises help with your mobility restrictions.
What do i do for pain in the shoulder extension. That 60 degress is painful
Ive pain at last range of your mobility exercises what exercise should i do!?
Normally I do a goblet style squat today I tried to do a squat with the barbell behind my head (think typical squat form). What I noticed is I can’t with out serious discomfort get my left hand back on the bar where you’d typically grip it. Right hand reaches fine but not left. Anything that can help with that?
I had surgery how about a month ago what are my ligaments was ripped and fixed the doctor showed me a couple of moves that I could use but I'm looking for more that I can get my arm back into shape right now I have to hold my arm up in order to do the range of motion
When i do pullups i tend to lean to the left quite a lot and the left part of my upper trap tenses and hurts a bit. After this test is seems my left arm got worse external rotation than my right arm. And my rigth arm how worse internal rotation than my left arm. You're thoughts on these would be helpfull.
It is possible that those restrictions are contributing to the symptoms you notice with pull ups. I just posted another video with exercises to help improve internal and external rotation mobility. I would try the exercises in that video and see if they help your pull ups.
Doing your mobility exercises for 3 weeks, while my pain level decreased has been helpful. The one thing that I cannot get passed is the horizontal adduction, reaching without help. The final part of reaching across gets the back of my arm/ shoulder fired up every time. All my other impingement seems to be gone, but I feel that something is still restricting that motion. As my tendon strengthens will it still be somewhat painful or restricted, or could there be something else that is still not being dealt with? Like the levator video you have etc? That one seems to help some. Just wonder if strengthening all the parts will eventually reduce that pain as well, or maybe I’m still missing something.
Thank you!
Pain and restriction with horizontal adduction is thought to be related to the posterior or backside of the shoulder. In some cases, this resolves with rotator cuff strengthening, especially of the external rotators, which are located on the backside of the shoulder. Also, other stretches that target the posterior side of the shoulder, like the sleeper stretch can be helpful. Have you seen this one before? If you search sleeper stretch online, you can find videos that show how to do it. In terms of rotator cuff strengthening, I have a video under my shoulder playlist that would probably be helpful.
@@RehabScience Thank you for your reply. Yes, I’ve seen the sleeper one and have found that to be somewhat helpful. After working out yesterday, today I was barely able to lift my arm to that horizontal position. I had my husband help with the levator pinning as I raised my arm several times. I did this 2 times today. Believe it or not, I have not had any more pain raising my arm to that horizontal position. I can lift it freely. I do still need to support it a bit with my other arm in order to reach across the body. But it is definitely a lot better. I really appreciate your videos and your quick reply. Thank you again! I will keep these up.
@@christinelewis5765 That's great to hear! Levator can definitely cause pain when elevating the arm, so it sounds like you may have found the reason for your symptoms. Have you seen my levator partner massage video? If you haven't, you might find it to be helpful.
@Rehab Science yes, I have seen the video and used your instructions. It really seemed to help my issue.😊 thank you! But I will continue to work on it.
Wow! Shoulder abduction one is where the crunching happens for me. Thank you! Im going to work on this!
I am glad the video was helpful and hope the exercises/movements help you!
@@RehabScience thank you so much!
90° internal rotation for keft shoulder gets tight, I have issues bench pressing with the left shoulder.
I hope you find these drills to be helpful!
The first movement is what gets me every single time. I get part of the way up, and it seems like the bicep muscle (front part of the arm) locks up due to tightness, and I also feel it in the back of my shoulder. What stretches/exercises can help me with this?
Did you find solution ?
@@Gaurav.P0 is it normal from the bone of a shoulder to pop when you're doing that movement?
I can't wait to start this. Just found your channel. Wondering if you could provide names for the stretches. Thanks
Glad the video was helpful to you! The movements in this video aren’t really stretches. They are really just the movements that our shoulder normally moves through. These movements include flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, external rotation, and internal rotation.
@@RehabScience I'll study these meanings. TY so much! Mobility is a whole new world to me...
@@saintmichael8167 You might find my shoulder biomechanics lecture below to be helpful.
czcams.com/video/KXaBXwmV-ik/video.html
how many times should I do the movements? Does it work like that or just by me trying to move my shoulders would be enough once a day?
I have all the range of motion. Hypermobile. But getting crunching.
Bu
On exercise #8, I'm getting sharp pain where the bicep inserts into the deltoid.
I have been experiencing this in many exercises, but your video has made it very easy to replicate. Getting some nerve pain in my elbow too. I guess I'm pinching a nerve somewhere!
If your pain is reproduced with the last exercise (internal rotation), then I would recommend trying the biceps and subscapularis exercises in my other two videos below.
czcams.com/video/1mPLuz3Ro_8/video.htmlsi=Lsi--Qzv7yPfAlyD
czcams.com/video/GEH6Y-_1X84/video.htmlsi=SWgnSWYi5Qzg4fLZ
Do you have any tips to help with external rotation, I could barely rotate my arms out with this movement
The stretches in this video might help you: czcams.com/video/GaiBcI4BelM/video.htmlsi=dxqb5VJB6XKsQCrO
Hlo sir i am not able movement at 2:50 i feel dificulty in chest area when hand come close to chest i also have posture ossue in my neck sir what should i do.
I've had shoulder pain for the last few weeks. My mobility is great, but I also have hypermobile EDS. I'm always concerned that mobility with pain is a concern. and it's less that I have pain in the shoulder, but when I am reaching back and extend my elbow, that's when the pain occurs. :/
Hey, the movement you do at 3:10 I cannot do. For some reason when I am trying to get into the 90/90 position, my left hand always moves in front of my left elbow (tilting my forearm forward). This means I cannot set up for an overhead shoulder press with dumbbells. However, when assisted, the hand happily goes above the elbow passively. Is this likely a rotator cuff that's not firing/activating? Any other possibilities? Thanks so much.
If you can achieve the position passively, then the issue is likely related to a muscle activation issue. I would recommend trying the exercises in my external rotator strengthening video. Here is the link: czcams.com/video/jJo1CbgXb_A/video.html
@@RehabScience Thank you for your reply.
I'm feeling discomfort in my right rear delt...will incorporate these movements and lets see
How many reps and sets and how many times a week?for athletes
How many sets and reps??
The thing I can't do and don't know what the solution is the ability to hold a stick and bring it from in front of me to up and over head and back behind my body like you see done usually as a warm up exercise before weight lifting for your shoulder, I can somewhat do it with a rubber band but with a stick I can barely go past the top of my head then get stuck trying to move it down behind me if know what I mean
Interesting. Have you injured the shoulder before? Can you lift and lower your arm without the stick and under your own control?
I have the same issue and I have never had any shoulder injury.
@@Wallasmodsame, never had any injury. Woke up one day thinking I just slept funny.😊
I can't get through the full range of motion in several ways. Is there a way to fix this? Never injured my shoulder.
Hi, I can do all the movements shown without difficulty - what i do have is an issue with gettign my right arm to 'scratch' my back - from below - with my left arm, my hand can get centre back/between my shoulder blades, with my right it only goes as far as bottom of left shoulder blade. not sure if this is about the elbow or shoulder movement?
This restriction is related to internal rotation of the shoulder blade. The dominant arm (right arm in most people) is normally more restricted with this movement, so the asymmetry you are noticing might not be an issue.
@@RehabScience thanks for the reply/info
Why does my right shoulder click when i do face pulls? it hurts when that happens, solution plz
Hi! Recently I've been experiencing painful flare ups in my right shoulder. I draw for a living and it's my drawing arm. I went through mobility motions and the flare up happens when use transverse plane motions (not sure if I caught that correctly, the ones that start at 3:30). It's rather painful when I do the first external rotation to 70 degrees and also when I move up and then do the 70 degrees internal rotation.
What exercises would you suggest to try out? Thanks!
For pain with those rotational movements, I would recommend strengthening your rotator cuff muscles. Here are links to two of my videos that show exercises to try. If an exercise creates more than mild discomfort, then I would shorten your range of motion or temporarily eliminate from your program.
czcams.com/video/1mPLuz3Ro_8/video.html
czcams.com/video/jJo1CbgXb_A/video.html
@@RehabScience Thank you, I'll check them out!
@@RehabScience hey, just wanted to say that after these two weeks (did the exercises almost every day) I managed to restore 70% mobility and the painful flare ups happen less often! Thank you 🙏
I have limited range of motion for internal rotation, so as an exercise should I just try to actively go into internal rotation and just try to get more range? Thanks!
Yes, you could start with that, but most likely you will also need to add a more targeted internal rotation stretch. My video below shows a stretch that works for most people. czcams.com/video/GaiBcI4BelM/video.htmlsi=isrIS3M2K1TkI00A
Whenever I'm moving my shoulders, i get a muffled clicking sound, though it is not painful, it starts paining as I go through the day. It gets worse if I work out my shoulders or my chest(dumbbell press and cable fly)
I would try adding some of the exercises in my rotator cuff strengthening post. In many cases, strengthening those muscles helps to reduce painful clicking symptoms. You can find this video under my shoulder playlist.
Tested range of motion but never gave corrections for improvement bad or tight spots
I can do all of these no sweat, my shoulders just pop like crazy during any form of resistance training that involves delts.
In that case, I would recommend also trying the exercises in my rotator cuff strengthening videos. Here are the links.
czcams.com/video/jJo1CbgXb_A/video.html
czcams.com/video/1mPLuz3Ro_8/video.html
I essentially have bursitis and don't have the mobility I normally do. Are these exercises a good idea for a shoulder with bursitis?
Yes, these could be helpful to you, but I would also recommend implementing the exercises in my shoulder bursitis video. Here is the link.
czcams.com/video/432yWPJQ-is/video.html
So ... what were the exercises?
As I said at the beginning of the video, these movements can count as both assessments and active mobility exercises.
I guess what he means is that the video is kinda all over the place, it would help if you had clear separation between exercises
@@ma.flordelizsantos6817 The movements/exercises are broken down by the plane of movement. This seems to me like a logical breakdown based on the biomechanics of the shoulder joint.
Grab some bands bud 😅
@@YoungChia This is an active mobility video. Adding load (bands) isn't appropriate in many cases until ROM is fully restored.
How many sets and reps would you recommend for each exercise?
Failed almost all of them. Have never had any injuries and have been an athlete my entire life but for some reason have terrible mobility and tightness in all areas of my body
I would shoot for 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions. However, if you are more staff, I would try holding them like a stretch for 30 to 60 seconds.
If you lift a lot and don't stretch you will be tighter than average. The more time you spend in the gym the more time you need to work on mobility
@@konev13thebeast This isn't necessarily true as we have actually seen in the research that eccentric contractions can help improve mobility. It all depends on how the person is training and if they are utilizing a full range of motion when performing strength training exercises.
@@RehabScience on most exercises, full range doesnt cover all of your mobile range. Pullups/lat pulldowns only cover your arms from 180 to roughly 30 degrees.
Squats/deadlifts/leg press in proper form doesnt push to the ends of mobile range either. The only one that does for hamstrings are straight legged deadlifts where you're on a platform. And similar with quads sissy squats on hacksquat
I injured my right shoulder a long time ago but still had total mobility. I fell on it in high school. I'm now 37. A few years ago, it just stopped working properly. Nothing else happened, but I was no longer able to sleep on my right side and over lost mobility. The one I fail the most is external rotation, probably at about 45-50 degrees instead of 70. Some of the other tests are affected as well. Any ideas? Should i just do these exercises or is something else necessary?
The only problem I have is when i try to rotate my shoulder clockwise then a sudden jerk or pop like sound is heard and also creates some small pain. I can do all of those movements. ALso there is no problem while rotating my shoulders in anti-clockwise direction.
I can do all these movements but some of them hurt and my shoulder clicks a lot any suggestions? Thanks
I would recommend implementing rotator cuff strengthening exercises. These typically help reduce pain and clicking. Here are links to my other videos that show exercises that strengthen the rotator cuff muscles.
czcams.com/video/jJo1CbgXb_A/video.htmlsi=hjhywOAu6SJpxfpA
czcams.com/video/1mPLuz3Ro_8/video.htmlsi=Vt1YkEW7BAibDDnp
@@RehabScience thanks I’ll give these a watch and see how it goes
Hey just so you know is that I sprained my right shoulder when I fell off my bike, my shoulder still hurts a bit when I'm trying to do mobility on it.
It’s important not to push into pain when working on mobility after joint sprains. Take it slow and only move through the range of motion will allow without pain.
This seems more like an assessment. How would one rehab shoulder pain?
Yes, these do tend to be more for assessment purposes. Please see my shoulder playlist for all of my rehab videos.
I cant do the last
I can do all the beginning movements...just hurts a lot lol
I broke my left arm with shoulder involvement.
This kinda filled in the blank so to speak. I mean, my physio therapist has been explaining these things as we progress. It’s just nice to have a larger picture of where we should be in our range of motion. That being said, these aren’t exercises to increase our range of motion.
I’m glad the video was helpful. These can serve as active mobility exercises if the person has a deficiency with one of the movements and then practices that movement each day. Many times in physical therapy, an assessment strategy also serves as a treatment strategy. In this case, a range of motion movement assessment can also serve an a mobility treatment strategy if performed repetitively.
I can do all of these, but i can't do anything with my shoulder's quickly, either it pops or there is pain...
If your mobility is full with these movements, I would recommend doing the exercises in my shoulder instability and rotator cuff videos.
I can do all these ranges of motion. But when I try to get into position to low bar squat I get bad elbow pain almost immediately even without heavy load. It's my off arm so it 100% not overuse.
Quite often, we see that when people have slightly limited shoulder, external rotation mobility, they will notice shoulder and/or elbow pain with low bar back squats. I just posted a new shoulder mobility video a couple of days ago that shows a more challenging shoulder external rotation stretch. I would recommend trying that one and see if it helps improve your elbow symptoms.
Last one got a problem done
👍👌
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👍🙏
Is it too late to try and get range of motion back after almost a year of not doing it?
No, it’s not too late to try. When more time goes by, it usually means you just have to hold the joint stretches longer. We refer to this as load-load, long-duration stretching.
@@RehabSciencethank you very much!!
And what about hanging? Is it cure for all, or not sufficient to improve mobility in all the ranges?
Dead hangs can help with shoulder flexion and abduction mobility. They won’t help a ton with rotational mobility.
fixed the shoulder problem now the back hurts
I can do all those movements but every single movement hurts.
Sorry to hear that. You can also use a golf club or broomstick and use the other arm to help move the painful arm.
I can do all the exercises with no pain but my left shoulder does a little cracking sound is that ok or what😅
We don’t worry much about noises if they don’t cause pain. The musculoskeletal is notorious for making odd noises in the absence of pathology.
@@RehabScience but it hurts a little bit while the cracking sound. (By the way The cracking sound happens once i do a 360 rotation move with my arm)
My rt shoulder very tight
I would also recommend trying the exercises in my other shoulder mobility video. Here is the link.
czcams.com/video/GaiBcI4BelM/video.html
May I suggest timestamps please?
Lately, CZcams has been applying them automatically for me, so I haven’t been putting them in.
Reynold Ryans
These aren't exercises...I don't get it.
They are tests of normal range of motion and can become exercises if you lack mobility as explained in the video!
Bro really yapped for 20% of the video
Don’t watch my videos then! The information is important and I do my best to keep it short!
@@RehabScience you stole 1 minute
@@RehabScience I’m sorry for being rude, you do not seem to deserve disrespect
@@zmanboss1 I appreciate you saying that. I do my best to keep the intro information short, but there is often information that is important to know before implementing the exercises.
@@RehabScience that’s fair. Thank you for making healthy content
Had to stop watching when he said 0 was straight down