Hey everybody it's Doctor Jo and today I'm going to show you some stretches and
exercises for rotator cuff tendinopathy. Let's get started.
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passiongifts.com. All right let's get started with some pendulum exercises
standing up.
So the first set of exercises are going to be pendulum exercises. Make sure you
get a sturdy chair or counter top something solid to hold on to.
Now with the pendulum exercises, you don't want to actively move your arm,
you're going to move your body to make your arm move.
So just spread your feet out a little bit, let your arm hanging down nice and
loose, and then you're going to start off with a circle, but move your whole body
for that circle. So it's not necessarily this, but it's moving the whole thing
around. So just start off with maybe 10 in one direction and then reverse it and
go back in the other direction. This is really nice because it just opens up
that joint. If there's some irritation in the shoulder,
it helps kind of get all of that out of there. Then the next one is going to be a
front-to-back movement.
So same thing, move your whole body. Don't actively move your arm, but let your body
swing. And just front to back. Maybe start off with 10 of those as well.
And then the last one of the pendulums is then side to side. So now swinging
it across your body with that body movement going back and forth. So again
just start off with 10 of each of these and try and work your way up to a minute.
Alright the next exercises are going to be on the ground. So now I'm going to
show you some stretches, passive range of motion and active assisted, with a PVC
pipe. If you don't have the PVC pipe that's okay, you can use a cane if you
have it or broomstick. You just want something nice and solid to be able to
help you with that stretching. So the first one is going to be for shoulder
internal rotation. So this would be on my left side.
This is the motion where you're going down this way
or if you're reaching up behind your back, your clasping your bra, or unclasping
your bra. And then you're just going to take the stick and put it behind you
with the other hand and then reach back and grab it.
You might have to start off really low because if your sore that shoulder and
is irritated,
you're not gonna be able to start off really high. But just really gently, you
want to be comfortable you don't want to be painful,
with the right hand, pull upwards and so that left arm is just kind of going for
the ride.
So just pull a little bit. I'm gonna turn to show you some more, and then you can
either hold it for 30 seconds, if you can tolerate that, and do that three times. Or
if that's really store, you can do many sets of five seconds so just hold it as
much as you can, about 5 to 10 seconds, and then do five of those. Just
getting that that stretch in there that internal rotation for people who have
wallets in their back pocket, kind of that motion might be painful so this
will help out with that as well.
The next one is going to be the external rotation stretch and that's almost that
stop sign position, you're going back this way. If you're grabbing for your
seat belt to pull it in that kind of motion.
So with the stick, this time you won't lie down. It's probably little bit easier
to do that.
Put your elbows out almost in that stop sign position there. And then this time,
it's just kind of going for the ride. You're moving the stick with your right
side and pushing it down.
So you're just going to the stretch.
Hold it maybe 5 to 10 seconds and then come back up.
So I'm not really actively moving it, I'm letting the stick do most of the work
with the other arms. Just pulling pushing back, holding it for you know
five to ten, work up to 30 seconds if you can, and then come back up.
So now let's do some strengthening exercises. We'll go back to the internal
rotation and external rotation.
This is probably just maybe a one to two pound weight. You want to start off with
something light because again if you're irritated
it's going to be pretty sore. If even a little bit of weight sore, you can do
these exercises without the weight and then work your way up to it. So again I'm
gonna lie down but I'm going to be on my side and I'm going to be on the side
that I'm working. So if it's my left arm,
I'm gonna lie down on my left side. This is going to be the internal rotation. Put
your elbow just in front of your body so you're not lying on the elbow.
So you have that movement. And put it straight out in front of you so it's
kind of perpendicular to your body. That almost 90 degrees at your elbow, and then
just pull up this way,
and slowly come back down. Nice slow and controlled.
Don't go fast, don't let the weight if you're using weight pull you back down,
make sure you're controlling that motion.
Nice, nice and slow and just start off with ten of these,
and if that becomes easy work your way up to 20 - 25. And if that's easy, then add
a little bit more weight. For the external rotation,
I like using a resistive band. Take the band, put it in both hands and then put
your thumbs up.
It's important for the thumbs to be up to get that good motion.
You want your wrist to be in a neutral position, a lot of times people turn it
out like that, but then you're going to end up making your wrists sore. So try and
keep them in a nice neutral position and keep your elbows by your side.
This is the one where a lot of times people come out they like to bring their
elbows out, but then that's not really doing that external rotation. So keep it
close to your side on both sides, and then just pull out as far as you
comfortably can,
and then slowly come back in again. Controlling the movement. Don't let that
band just pull you back in. Nice and slow,
and if you feel like your elbows keep coming out, roll up a towel,
squeeze the towel to your side,
and then you know if the towel starts to fall, then your elbows are coming out.
So again just start off with about 10 of these and then work your way up
20 - 25. If that becomes easy, then you can get a stronger resistance band.
So the next one with the resistive band is going to be rows. And that's working
kind of the back of your shoulders, the scapula area,
those muscles that keep you in that good proper position for your shoulders. Just
take the resistive band,
you can wrap it around your feet if you want to, again keep those thumbs up,
wrist in a neutral position, and this time pull and squeeze back just like
you're rowing a boat. But make sure when you come back, don't just bring your arms
back, squeeze those shoulders together as well. And then, still keeping it nice slow
and controlled, and then coming back in. If you want to do a little pause on the
squeeze, hold it
three to five seconds, that's fine, and then slowly come back. And the same
progression started off with 10 and work your way up from there. Then you're going
to put the band on the other side, around your back, and you're going to do we call
them
serratus punches, scapular punches, this time you're working those serratus
muscles in the back and those the ones that keep the shoulder blade
close your body, and if those are weak a lot of times it's called scapular
winging where the shoulder blades kind of come away from your body, and then
that makes a whole lot of other stuff start hurting.
I like to put the band underneath so it's not rubbing on my arms,
but again keep those thumbs up,
keep your arms straight, try not to bend your elbows for this one.
Start and punch forward, bring those arms forward, and then slowly bring back. Almost into
that squeezing scapular squeezing position. So punch, come back
again. Nice and slow. Make sure you get that full punch, and come back. But see
I'm not bending my elbows when I come back and punching, I'm punching the whole
arm. It's moving as one unit.
So there you have it, those were your stretches and exercises for rotator cuff
tendinopathy. If you have any questions, or if you'd like to tell me which three
people you think are my favorite, leave it in the comments section. If you'd like to
check out some other videos, go to AskDoctorJo.com Don't forget to like
us. And remember, be safe, have fun, and I hope you feel better soon.