2 Exercises For Shoulder Pain

Shoulder Pain

Shoulder Pain

If you are experiencing shoulder pain out of nowhere and do not know why it is occurring. These exercises may be perfect to help to ease shoulder pain.

Why am I Experiencing Shoulder Pain?

Do you ever just wake up and have shoulder pain? You have no idea where it came from or why it’s there. You may be having pain reaching overhead or behind your back. If your shoulder hurts when you try these movements, these exercises may be perfect for you to help relieve that achy shoulder pain.

A reason you may be experiencing this shoulder pain is your posture. If you work at a desk you may naturally start to slouch over or roll your shoulders causing that tiring feeling in your shoulders. Correcting your posture as much as you can help to relieve your shoulder pain.

When working at the desk or even driving your shoulders can start to roll over causing you to slouch. Over time it can cause your shoulders to ache and be in pain and oftentimes including your neck as well.

Another reason may be too much rest. Yes, that is a thing. When you’re sitting all day and not moving your body, that can cause some stiffness and maybe the cause of your shoulder pain. Try stretching or being active during your day if you plan on sitting for long periods of time.

Read this blog to see Shoulder pain: 3 things that do not help to relieve it

Exercises to Help Ease Shoulder Pain

Exercise 1:

Placing a towel or pillowcase on a countertop or table. Place your arm, up to the elbow, on top and slide your arm forward pushing away from you. Hold that for around 5-10 seconds and pull it back. You can go straight out in front of you or have your palm up and go toward the opposite corner of the table, holding again for 5-10 seconds. This exercise is great to get movement in your shoulder without having to use the muscles of the shoulder for it to move.

Shoulder Exercise 1

Exercise 2:

Get next to a wall and take the side where you have the most shoulder pain. To do this exercise you place your palm on the wall and inch up the wall with your fingers. If you have too much pressure on your shoulder, take your other hand and place it under your elbow for more support, while your fingers walk up the wall. Hold the exercise for about 10 seconds and repeat it ten to twenty times throughout the day. You can also lock your arm onto the wall and step and lean back to stretch your shoulder.

Shoulder Exercise 2

If it’s not too painful and you can place both arms above your head straight out and lean back to get more movement and stretch in the shoulder. Pictured below.

Shoulder Exercise 3

To follow along with these exercises: https://youtu.be/gk1v5sKXXsM

Ways to Ease Shoulder Pain

  • 1. Use Ice for pain: When an ache arises it is important to bring attention to it. You can apply ice, which is the best way to reduce the pain quickly. The icing on and off for ten minutes will help lower the irritation.
  • 2. Use Heat For Stiffness: Applying heat when you're stiff will allow your shoulder to move more easily. It is common when you wake up in the morning to experience stiffness. Apply for ten minutes as well. The best time is in the morning when you are feeling that stiffness.
  • 3. Pillow count: The number of pillows you sleep with can be causing problems to your shoulder and your body. If you sleep with two pillows, it is best to start using only one to reduce the amount of stretching in your neck and shoulder when you use two. When scaling down to one pillow you reduce the strain of your muscles while you sleep. Using a soft pillow you will scale down that amount of strain. If you sleep on your side, get a pillow to hug with your top arm so it stays supported.

Watch this video: to learn more about shoulder pain.

How Can Physical Therapy Help Your Shoulder Pain?

If these exercises do not seem to help ease shoulder pain, taking a bigger step to solving your problem may need to be taken. At Preferred Physical therapy we have helped many people who’ve suffered from shoulder pain and have left pain-free and able to do everything they enjoy with no pain. Physical therapy provides you with a persistent action of care and gets down to the true cause as to why you are experiencing shoulder pain. Click here To hear from past patients about their journey with us.

Nick Hunter, PT, DPT

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