Most of us lead stressful and jet setting lifestyles which seldom leave time for everything except work, sleeping and eating. When our bodies are young, then they bear the brunt of these unhealthy schedules without a murmur. However, with age there are certain parts of our body which become more vulnerable than the others. One of these is the rotator cuff which is situated in the shoulder.
The first sign of a rotator cuff injury is a throbbing pain in the upper arm which recurs periodically. Over time, this pain can become more severe. These symptoms are a sign that a serious rotator cuff injury is in the making – and the only way to prevent this is with rotator cuff exercises.
Before you start your exercises, warm up thoroughly. Do some arm and shoulder stretches, then bend at the waist, letting your arms hang loosely by your sides. Move them from side to side with shoulders and arms relaxed. Do both your warm up and your rotator cuff exercises slowly and gently to prevent causing any further injury to your shoulders.
The following are exercises which specifically target the rotator cuff. Each should be done for about 30 repetitions. These exercises can be performed with the addition of weights – just don’t use weights which are heavy enough to tire you out before you can complete 30 reps. If you’re using weights, start with small weights of around 2 oz and work your way up to heavier ones as you progress.
1. The ideal starting position for this exercise is to lie on your stomach on a bed or a table. Start by keeping your hand down and elbow bent at a right angle and raise your left arm to the shoulder level. Then, raise your left hand to the shoulder level by keeping your elbow in bent position. Slowly bring your hand back to your side. Perform about thirty reps of the exercise and then switch to the right hand.
2. For this exercise you need to put a towel roll under your right armpit and lie on your right. Bend your elbow at a right angle and let your left arm remain at your side. Let the forearm rest palm down against your chest. Imitating the backhand swing motion in tennis, you need to raise your left forearm to the shoulder level by rolling your shoulder out. Repeat for about thirty times and then switch sides.
3. This exercise resembles the forehand tennis swing. Start by lying on the right side and let your left arm rest on the left side. Your right forearm needs to rest on the table and you need to bend your right elbow at a right angle. Then raise your right forearm to the chest by rolling your right shoulder in. Lower the forearm and repeat. After doing about thirty reps, you need to switch sides.
These are some of the rotator cuff exercises which can help in strengthening and toning the muscles of your shoulder and rotator cuff.
Tom Nicholson has spent years caring for sufferers of carpal tunnel syndrome. You can click here to learn more about somerotator cuff exercises.
