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Home Care:
PREVENTION:
-You can do daily stretches and exercises to keep your shoulder muscles flexible and strong
-Keeping good posture at all times (standing straight and relaxed, without
slumping)
-Don't lift objects that are too heavy for you-especially over your head and don't
catch falling objects
-Don't keep your arms raised over your head or out to the side for long periods of time (ex: painting a ceiling), if you must do activities that involve these things,
make sure you take plenty of breaks to rest and stretch
STRETCHES:
1. Corner/Doorway Stretch:
-Facing corner or standing through a doorway, place forearms on each wall at
shoulder height.
Slowly lean chest forward into corner, keeping upper body tall, to feel a stretch in the front of
the chest.
2. Lats/Rotator Cuff self traction:
-Stand at 45 degrees facing a closed door with one foot in front of the other in a
lunge type
position. Reach forward and grasp doorknob then slowly sit lower
body down and backward to
feel a stretch in the back and side of the shoulder
3. Triceps-Cross body:
-Sitting tall, shoulders square, place one hand across body toward opposite
shoulder. Use
opposite hand to gently bring elbow further across body, keeping shoulders square, to feel a
stretch in the back of the upper arm
4. Active Supraspinatus:
-Place arm horizontally across body with thumb down. Grasp arm at elbow level with opposite
hand and assist arm while reaching across body.
5. Traps-Bilateral:
-Standing, clasp 'hand over hand' behind back. Stand tall, keep chin tucked
down and lower
shoulder blades down to the floor to feel a stretch in the top of
the shoulders.
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