The shoulder can be a pesky joint. Its 360-degree range of motion allows you to throw a ball, swim and scratch your back. But all that mobility comes with a cost.
Shoulder pain is one of the most common muscle or joint complaints, and the causes can include arthritis, frozen shoulder, impingement or a weak rotator cuff. “It’s like a rite of passage,” said Dr. Lawrence Gulotta, a sports medicine surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. “Most people are going to get shoulder pain at some point in their life.”
That’s largely because the shoulder is a shallow joint. With your hip, for example, the thigh bone is encased in a deep socket, but with your shoulder, the upper arm bone rests in the curve of your shoulder blade, “more like a golf ball on a tee,” said Leada Malek, a physical therapist in San Francisco. With less bony structure around the joint to support it, the shoulder depends on the tendons, ligaments and muscles around it to create stability, power and range of motion.
The complex joint requires a delicate balance of strength and mobility, said Paul Salamh, associate professor of physical therapy and director of research at the University of Indianapolis. If that balance is off, it can lead to shoulder pain.
Your deltoids are “the most powerful of the shoulder movers,” helping to lift your arm, Dr. Gulotta said, while your rotator cuff — a smaller group of four muscles — is responsible for internal and external rotation. These two muscle groups complement each other, like the biceps and triceps or quads and hamstrings.
“You’d never go to the gym and work your biceps but not your triceps,” Dr. Gulotta said, but he noted that many people focus on strengthening their deltoids while neglecting their rotator cuff.
The muscles surrounding your shoulder blades, called your periscapular muscles, also need care. They stabilize your shoulder blades, allowing your shoulder joint to move smoothly.
Maintaining a good range of motion can also help prevent shoulder pain, Dr. Salamh said. Being able to raise your arms overhead and rotate, extend and flex your mid-back can influence how your shoulder functions and moves.
This workout is designed to improve your mobility and bolster the muscles that support your shoulders. Some exercises, like the banded external rotation and bent-over row, mimic movements you do in daily life.
What You’ll Need
A pair of light and medium dumbbells
A small towel
Adjust for you
You can do these exercises with or without weights. Start with one set of each exercise, focusing on performing the movements with good form. Once that feels easy, you can add a second set of exercises, eventually progressing to three sets of each strength exercise.
Overhead Reach
Purpose: Overhead mobility
Repetitions: Two sets of 10 to 15 repetitions
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your knees soft. Reach both arms forward and overhead. Your arms can be parallel or make a V-shape. Don’t arch your back or flare your chest. Hold for a few seconds, then release your arms down by your side.
Book Openers
Targets: Thoracic spine mobility
Repetitions: Two sets of 10 to 15 repetitions
Lie on your side, with your knees stacked in a 90-degree position. Extend and stack your arms, with your palms together. Lift your top arm up toward the ceiling. Let your upper back rotate open as you reach your arm back behind you. If possible, let your arm rest on the ground. Hold for a few seconds before lifting your top arm up toward the ceiling, then return to the starting position.
External Rotations
Targets: Rotator cuff
Repetitions: Two sets of 10 to 15 repetitions
Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Hold a light dumbbell in one hand and raise your arm to the side, to about shoulder height, with your elbow at a 90-degree angle. Your forearm should be parallel to the floor, with your palm facing down. Maintaining this position, rotate your forearm up while keeping the rest of your arm still. Lift until your forearm is perpendicular to the floor and your palm faces out or as far as comfortable. Slowly lower your forearm to the starting position.
Scaption Raises
Targets: Rotator cuff, deltoids
Repetitions: Three sets of 10 repetitions
Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a light dumbbell in each hand with your thumbs facing up. Engage your core and draw your shoulder blades together and down to avoid shrugging your shoulders. With your elbows straight, raise your arms to shoulder height in a V-shape. Slowly lower. You can perform this exercise without weights to start.
Reverse Fly
Targets: Posterior deltoid
Repetitions: Three sets of eight to 12 repetitions
Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a light dumbbell in each hand. Maintaining a flat back, hinge forward at your hips by pushing your hips back and allowing your knees to bend slightly. Your torso should be at about a 45-degree angle. Let your arms hang under your shoulders with your palms facing each other. Keeping your core engaged, slightly bend your elbows and lift your arms out and up to the side to about shoulder height. You should feel your shoulder blades come together on your back. Avoid swinging your arms and using momentum to lift the dumbbells. Lower your arms back down to the starting position.
Bent-Over Row
Targets: Periscapular muscles
Repetitions: Three sets of eight to 12 repetitions
Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a medium dumbbell in each hand. Maintaining a flat back, hinge forward by pushing your hips back and allowing your knees to bend slightly. Your torso should be at about a 45-degree angle; let your arms hang under your shoulders with your palms facing each other. Engage your core and draw your shoulder blades together and down. Drive your elbows back to bring the weights parallel to your lower ribs, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Lower slowly and with control.
Prone Y’s
Targets: Periscapular muscles
Repetitions: Three sets of 10
Lie on your belly and rest your forehead on a rolled-up towel. Extend your arms to create a Y shape with your thumbs pointing up. Gently draw your shoulder blades together and down. Raise your arms while keeping the rest of your body still. Hold for a count of three, and slowly return to the starting position. As you progress, you can add weight.
- Credits: The New York Times
- Author: Christine Yu
- Photo: Theodore Tae
