Say Goodbye to Shoulder Tension: 9 Simple Stretches to Loosen and Relax Tight Shoulders

Last updated on October 13th, 2023 at 12:27 pm

• Tight shoulder muscles can cause discomfort and limited range of motion in the upper body.
• Regular stretching and exercises can help alleviate tightness and improve shoulder mobility.
• Resistance band exercises and yoga poses can also help stretch and strengthen the shoulders.
• It’s important to listen to your body and not push past your limits, as overexertion can lead to injury.

The shoulder joint is very prone to developing pain and stiffness. It can result from wrong sitting posture at your desktop job, if you are a teacher and continuously raise your shoulder for blackboard teaching you’re sure to develop a painful shoulder condition, i.e. frozen shoulder.

There is a long list of causes like fracture around the arm and forearm that develops shoulder issues secondary to it. In my clinical practice, I have found that 3 out of 4 shoulder pain sufferers are females. In this article, we are going to discuss the best and easiest shoulder workout for men and women to get rid of such pain.

Basic principle of shoulder tightness exercises

Whatever shoulder workout we are going to learn is aimed at stretching the stiff muscles around the shoulder, improving shoulder range of motion (ROM) and strengthening it to regain shoulder motion and strength. These exercises include shoulder stretching exercises, Shoulder ROM exercises and shoulder strengthening exercises.

Frozen shoulder sufferers should maintain a daily routine of exercises. Initially, exercises are done very gently within the limit of pain, as pain improves the frequency and duration of exercises are increased. The application of a hot pack or warm shower prior to performing these exercises and the application of an ice pack to the shoulder afterwards will make the exercises more tolerable.

So first, let us start with shoulder stretching exercises. But again, it won’t be going to be a smooth ride, you have to tolerate a bit of pain while doing this exercise for a quick and better result.

Easy shoulders stretching exercises

#1 Shoulder external rotator stretching

Just try to reach your back pocket, if you are a frozen shoulder sufferer it would surely be restricted and painful. This is because of the stiffness of the anterior shoulder capsule and muscles.

1. So, to do this exercise try to take your affected side hand behind as if trying to take out a purse from the back pocket.
2. Take it till the point where you can and then hold it with another hand as shown in the figure.
3. Pull it and hold for 10 sec, repeat it for as much repetition as you can.

#2 Stretching the shoulders using a towel

This exercise is actually a progression of the previous exercise. As you feel that you can take your hand back a little bit more you should jump to this exercise. Here are the step-by-step instructions to perform it.

1. For this exercise, you only need a towel (you can also use a bedsheet).
2. Stand comfortably, keep the painful shoulder in a normal position and raise your other holding one end of the towel. For example, if I have an issue with my right shoulder then raise my left shoulder holding a towel.
3. Now, hold the other end of the towel with the affected side hand as shown in the figure.
4. Now, slowly elevated the upper hand (left hand in my example) which will exert a stretching effect on the other shoulder. While exerting the stretching, hold it in this position for a minimum of 30 seconds.
5. Repeat this 5 to 6 times in a single session. If you have very severe pain then perform it twice a day. As the pain improves you perform more than 4 to 5 sessions in a day.

#3 Shoulder Stretching by twisting body

1. Stand by the side of the wall and place the affected hand against the wall.
2. Now, simply twist your body backwards while keeping your hand fixed on the wall.
3. Hold this position for 10 sec, you would feel a nice stretching on the front part of the shoulder joint. Repeat it 5 to 10 times in a single session.

#4 Wall corner stretches for shoulders

1. Choose a corner of your house and stand facing it.
2. Now keep your forearm against the wall, notice the figure that the elbow and shoulder joint are at 90 degrees of angle.
3. In this position lean your body towards the corner, and try not to move your forearm from the wall. You will feel a good stretching on the anterior shoulder.
4. Again, hold this stretched position for 10 sec, and repeat it 10 to 15 times in a single session.

Range of motion exercises to release shoulder tension

#5 Shoulder pendulum exercise with dumbell

1. Begin the exercise by using only the weight of your arm without any added weights, and gradually progress it by holding lightweight such as dumbbells/packets of salt/water bottles into the routine.
2. Keep back straight, core (trunk muscles) tight, feet shoulder-width apart.
3. Support the opposite arm to allow the affected arm to hang straight down with full relaxation of that shoulder’s muscles.
4. Using the motion of your body to create shoulder motion, sway your body Start with small circles, gradually increasing to larger circles.
5. Perform 20-25 circles in each direction.

#6 Exercises using cane for stiff shoulders

The next exercise to loosen tight shoulders is done with a cane/wand or broomstick. There are several good exercises using a cane and they are very simple and effective. Here I’ll only discuss the overview of the exercise, for more detail on all these exercises refer to this article, 4 Easy Shoulder Wand Exercises for Painful, Stiff Shoulder. So, let us start with the standing Flexion Cane Exercise.

Standing Flexion Cane Exercise

1. Hold the cane in front of your body at shoulder level, parallel to the ground
2. Slowly raise the cane to above the head, keeping the arms straight, with no bend in the elbow if possible.
3. Hold for 2-5 seconds and lower the cane slowly.
4. 10-20 repetitions

Extension Cane Exercise

1. Standing with feet shoulder-width apart, hold the cane behind the body with palms up.
2. Slowly extend the cane upward and back until a stretch is felt in the anterior portion of the shoulder
3. Hold for 5-10 seconds
4. Do 10-20 reps
5. Beginners should start with a low number of reps, gradually increasing repetition

External Rotation Cane Exercises

1. Hold the cane behind your back, with palms up.
2. Slowly move the cane upward, keeping it as close to the body as possible.
3. Hold for 1-2 seconds.
4. 10-20 repetitions or until fatigue

#7 Shoulder Shrug Exercise for stiff shoulders

1. Keep the hand by the side of your body. Slowly lift both shoulders upwards and hold for 1-2 seconds.
2. Slowly lower the shoulders to the resting position.
3. Repeat the exercise bye forward rotation and backward rotation.
4. 10-20 reps or until fatigue.

#8 Shoulder external rotation in lying

1. Lie on your side, with the affected shoulder side down.
2. If this position causes pain, discontinue this exercise. If discomfort is felt, proceed with caution.
3. The affected shoulder should be abducted and flat against the floor. Elbow is bent to 90°, making it perpendicular to the floor.
4. Place the unaffected hand on the affected forearm and apply gentle downward pressure, slowly forcing the forearm to the floor.
5. Hold that position – or however far the affected arm can move without pain – for 10-30 seconds.
6. Repeat 5-10 times. Beginners should start slowly

Shoulder strengthening exercises

#9 Shoulder strengthening using theraband

There are several good exercises using theraband for strengthening shoulder muscles. Theraband is actually a resistance band made up of rubber. We have extensively covered these exercises in one of my articles “Do These 5 Easy Band Exercises For Shoulders To Fix Pain Quickly“, you can go and learn these exercises. These are fun ways of doing exercises and any age group can perform these exercises.

Final words

Sometimes after the stretching, you may experience increases in pain. This is a very normal phenomenon and nothing to worry about. Just apply any pain balm over the shoulder and leave it for 5 to 10 minutes. After that apply the hot treatment using an infrared lamp, an electric heating pad, or simply a hot water bag.

If you have pain on a regular basis, you can use a TENS machine which will help you reduce pain almost instantly.

Keep Reading: 17 Best Shoulder Dislocation Exercises to prevent recurrence

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Sunit. S. Ekka

Dr Sunit Sanjay Ekka is a physiotherapist in practice for the last 15 years. He has done his BPT from one of the premium Central Government physiotherapy colleges, ie, SVNIRTAR. The patient is his best teacher and whatever he gets to learn he loves to share it on his Youtube channel and blog.