12 Easy Rotator Cuff tear Exercises for Shoulder Pain Relief

Last updated on June 25th, 2022 at 04:43 pm

Studies suggest that exercises are very effective in treating rotator cuff tear cases (1). It commonly affects the elderly and is manifested by pain over the tip of the shoulder. Doing overhead activity becomes painful, you’ll have severe pain when trying to lift the shoulder which eases when the shoulder is fully elevated. This makes it difficult to carry out daily activities that reduce their quality of life.

If you have a complaint of rotator cuff injury, or your doctor has diagnosed you with, or your MRI diagnosis says that you have a rotator cuff injury, then stay with this article till the end.

Rotator cuff tear exercises

So whatever exercises we are going to learn in this article for rotator cuff injury, we can divide into three subheadings. One is gleno-humoral joint flexibility exercises, the second is shoulder stretching exercise and the third one is a shoulder strengthening exercise.

We will go to these exercises but before that, let us discuss the symptoms of the torn rotator cuff. Its most prominent symptom is the shoulder arc syndrome. What happens in this is that we tell the patient to lift the painful shoulder, then lifts it even when they do not feel any pain, But as soon as it reaches 90 degrees, around 70 to 90, where it starts to pain, well, still we tell him to lift him as soon as he goes up to 120 degrees, after that pain ends there, all right. Then when he lowers it downwards, it again starts hurting around 120 degrees and it hurts up to 90 or 70 degrees, then the pain ends, keep it comfortably like this.

Glenohumeral joint motion physio for torn rotator cuff

#1 Shoulder pendulum exercise for torn rotator cuff

So, the first exercise among the list of 12 rotator cuff tear exercises is shoulder pendulum exercise. It’s a very easy exercise, for this keep a stool or chair by your sound side. Suppose you have pain in your left shoulder then keep the chair on the right side and rest the right hand over the chair. In this position lean your body forward so as to take the weight over the left hand.

Now, swing your left shoulder forward and backwards just like a pendulum. You can also swing the shoulder in a circular motion, it’s called a shoulder pendulum. Do it a minimum of 15 to 20 times in a session, it’s even better if you do more than this, but 15 to 20 repetitions is a must, ok.

#2 Shoulder external rotation with stick

For this exercise you need a stick, I have a steel rod, it is lighter, you can also use a bamboo stick. Hold the stick and bend both the elbow to 90 degrees as shown in the figure. In this position, you just need to move your hand from side to side. If you do it regularly, slowly the stiffness around the shoulder will relax.

Do this for a minimum of 15 to 20 times if there is more pain, if there is not much pain then you can do more than this.

#3 Shoulder flexion-extension with cane

Using the stick we can also do shoulder flexion-extension exercises. Let us first discuss shoulder flexion. For shoulder flexion exercise, hold the stick in front of you and keep your elbows fully extended. Now, raise both hands up to the point where you can feel slight pain. Then slowly lower it down, now, again repeat this and lower it down slowly. As in the previous exercises, repeat it for a minimum of 10-15 repetitions in a single session, the more you do the better it is.

Next comes the shoulder extension exercises. For this, you need to grab the stick on your back as shown in the figure. And after that, you will take it back up to the pain-free range and then bring it back to the starting position. Repeat this process 15 to 20 times, maybe initially you will have a little problem in doing this but you will do it 10 to 15 times in a session, okay.

Easy rotator cuff stretches

So that was all for glenohumeral joint mobility, now the next group of rotator cuff tear exercises are the shoulder stretching exercise. The muscles around our shoulder become stiff due to pain, so we have to loosen them by stretching them and relaxing them.

#4 Rotator cuff tendinitis posterior capsule stretching

So for the first exercise, suppose there is a pain in this shoulder, then what will I do that I will put this hand here and then pull it like this, ok, I will pull it and hold it for 30 seconds, that is half a minute I will hold it and then let it relax, okay, because it is a stretching exercise, so you have to do it three times in a session, well, you should not do it more than three times. If I show you again then you hold it like this, hold it for 30 seconds then release relax, then do the third time, do the same process and then let it relax, ok. This will stretch the muscles behind our shoulders.

#5 Anterior capsule rotator cuff tear stretching using towel

Now a towel is needed to stretch the muscles on the front side of the shoulder. So, I have a towel, you can also use a bedsheet. For this, I will put the painful side hand on the back and hold the bottom end of the towel. With the normal hand, I’ll grab the upper end of the towel as displayed on the figure.

Now, I’ll pull the upper end of the towel in the upward direction so that it also pulls the affected hand upwards. I will pull it to the point where I feel a comfortable stretch on the affected shoulder. This is a stretching exercise, so hold it for 10 seconds and then relax it. Again lift it, hold it for 10 to 30 seconds then let it relax, okay. This will stretch the muscles of your front shoulder.

#6 Anterior capsule sore rotator cuff stretches on wall corner

Another way to do this stretching is to do it in the corner of the wall. The starting position for this exercise will be standing straight facing the wall corner. Now, place both the forearm on the corner of the wall so that shoulder and elbow are 90 degrees. As you can see in the figure, both shoulder and elbow are 90 degrees.

Then incline your body, your chest forward, take it as far as you can take it, okay. Take it forward and hold it for 30 seconds then relax and come back to the normal position, ok. Again repeat it, bend yourself forward, hold it for 30 seconds then relax. You can also do this exercise in the doorway. Repeat this 3 to 4 times in a session.

Rotator cuff tear strengthening exercise

The next exercise is strengthening exercise which strengthens the muscles around our shoulders. There are several types of strengthening exercises I will start with some light exercises. In the initial phase when you have more pain then you will do light exercises after that we will progress to more strong and aggressive exercises.

Because this is a strengthening exercise, we have to do each exercise in three sets in one session, and each set will have 15 repetitions, okay. Let us start with posterior strengthening exercises.

#7 Posterior shoulder strengthening exercise

So the first exercise is to strengthen the muscles behind the shoulder. For this, I am standing beside a table, you can also use a wooden chair or if there is a bed edge. I’ll stand straight and keep the affected side hand against the table edge as you can see in the picture. Now, I’ll try to slowly give a backward force to the table as if trying to push it.

You have to note that I am only pushing it I am not giving it this way but I am giving my pressure my force backwards so that the muscles on the back of my shoulder is exercised. Hold this position for 5 seconds, the best way is to count 1 2 3 4 5 and then relax. Again repeat the same procedure hold it for 5 seconds and then relax.

In this way, you have to do it 15 times in a set. That’s how you got to do three sets in one session, okay, take a minute or 2-minute rest in between each set. In this way, you have to do this exercise once a day in the initial phase, as your problem pain will decrease a bit, you can increase the repetitions of the exercises or its session.

#8 Shoulder external rotator strengthening

Now let’s move on to the next exercise, the next exercise you have to do in the side-lying position. You will come to the side-lying position such that the affected side shoulder will be on the top. Suppose you have pain in your right shoulder, lie down on your left side.

In this position hold one litre of the water bottle in your right hand. As you can see in the figure, your arm should be by the side and your elbow bent to 90 degrees of angle. I will hold the bottle of water and then raise my hand without moving my elbow, I am just lifting it upward, okay. This will strengthen the external rotator of the shoulder. And as I told you earlier do 15 repetitions in one set and three sets in one session. In the next exercise, you have to lie down on your tummy and then raise your hand in this way, 1 2 3.

#9 Shoulder flexor strengthening in lying for torn cuff

Now moving on to the next exercise, in that too you will need this water bottle, in this exercise, the muscles on the front side have to be strengthened. For that you will hold a 1-litre water bottle like this then you will lift it like this, okay, don’t lift more than that, okay, lift it up to about 70 degrees, ok, like I told 15 repetitions in a set And you have to do 3 sets in one session, okay.

#10 Shoulder flexor strengthening in half-lying

When you have done this exercise, after that again you shift to this position, I will show you, after sitting in this position you will do it like this, OK. All the repetitions will remain the same as I mentioned earlier.

#11 Shoulder flexor strengthening in standing

If you can do this exercise comfortably, then you will progress to exercise in a standing position. Look at this, standing up, okay, this is how I’m lifting, the repetitions will be all Same like I said earlier, so this way you, ok.

#12 Progressive strengthening exercises

With time as pain improves we will make these strengthening exercises even more aggressive and strong. For this, I would recommend resistance band exercises for the shoulder. A resistance band is a band made of latex-free rubber. You can do many exercises using it and I have already published an article on it, it will surely benefit you.

Also, if you have a good physiotherapist near you, you can go there and get ultrasound therapy over your shoulder. So, hope you have liked this article, if you liked it or if someone else has a problem, then definitely share it, they will definitely benefit from it. Again let me tell you all that if you are for the first time on this channel then definitely subscribe to it Thank you for watching friends bye-bye.

Other useful home remedies

Exercises are very important, however, you may sometimes develop pain after the exercise session. This is quite normal and you need not have to worry about it. In addition to this, the injured rotator cuff also needs nourishment. Let me share some important tips and products that can help you with this.

If you have pain, simply apply a pain ointment over the painful area and let the body absorb it for 10 minutes. After a gap of ten minutes apply a hot pack over the area and you would feel almost instant relief. Here are two nutraceutical products I would highly recommend to you. These are natural products prepared from extracts from plants and herbs and do not have any side effects.

FLEXYGEL

This unique gel prepared using nanotechnology works like a wonder. You need to take it twice daily after food. Dosage: Mix one tablespoon of Flexygel with a half glass of warm water and drink it. It is sugar-free, it’s absolutely safe for diabetics.

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JOINT FLEX OINTMENT

This highly effective pain balm I would like to recommend to you. I often prescribe this to my patient at my clinic. Get this for yourself now.

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Common cuff injury FAQ

Journal reference:

1. Edwards, Peter et al. “EXERCISE REHABILITATION IN THE NON-OPERATIVE MANAGEMENT OF ROTATOR CUFF TEARS: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE.” International journal of sports physical therapy vol. 11,2 (2016): 279-301.

Sunit. S. Ekka

The author is a physiotherapist who has been practising for the last 17 years. He holds a Bachelor's in Physiotherapy (BPT) from SVNIRTAR (Swami Vivekananda National Institute of Rehabilitation and Research), one of the prestigious physiotherapy schools in India.

Whatever he learns dealing with his patient, he shares it with the world through blogs and e-books. He also owns a YouTube channel, "Sunit Physiotherapist" with over 8 lakh active subscribers. Here, he shares everything he gets to learn serving the patient.