Exercises to treat rotator cuff tendinopathy and eliminate pain!
The rotator cuff muscles function to stabilise and assist movement of the shoulders. Rotator cuff tendinopathy is a common source of persistent and intermittent pain, and is estimated to be as high as 14% in the general working age population
Tendinopathy is considered an overuse, degenerative condition where the tendons undergo structural changes as a negative reaction from being persistently overloaded. Tendinopathy usually has a slow onset over time, and requires consistent rehab over a period of time to fully treat and for the individual to be able to return to activities of daily living (ADLs) or sport without pain. The aim is to reduce pain and increase range of motion, and subsequently increasing strength and function of the rotator cuff muscles to minimise the risk of re-occurrence.
RESULTS: Exercises for the rotator cuff muscles have shown to increase in function and ‘success’ of treatment in the long term.
The first phase of management : is to reduce pain and increase range of motion in the shoulder:
- Eliminating or reducing activities that aggravate the shoulder
- Gentle movement and stretching of the shoulder – Eg bending over and letting the arm dangle – Using your body to swing the arm PASSIVELY like a pendulum and in circles
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Active assisted movements – Using the unaffected arm to lift the shoulder up and out to the side. You can also put both hands on a broom stick and move the broomstick in different directions using your unaffected arm.
The second phase is for strengthening:
At this point in time, the exercises you do will depend on how much pain, range of motion you have and what your goal function is. The best thing to do is see a qualified physiotherapy and seek their professional advice.
References:
Images from Physitrack: https://au.physitrack.com/exercises
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