Do you do a lot of shoulder movements on a daily basis? Have you noticed that your shoulder pain increases the more you move your shoulder? If you can answer yes to these questions, then you may have developed a shoulder overuse injury, such as shoulder tendinitis.
There are several tendons in your shoulder that attach muscles to various shoulder bones. Every time you move your shoulder, these tendons stretch and contract. Repetitive shoulder movements can irritate your shoulder tendons, which can lead to pain. This is called shoulder tendinitis when it occurs.
Therapeutic stretching exercises are one way a virtual PT clinician can help you address shoulder tendinitis pain. Here are two stretches these professionals may recommend:
1. Pendulum stretch
Purpose: Shoulder tendinitis often causes your shoulder to feel tight and painful. The pendulum stretch is great for warming up your shoulder muscles and reducing shoulder tendinitis pain.
How to do the pendulum stretch:
- Place the hand of your unaffected arm on a counter or table for support. Then, lean forward slightly and let your affected arm hang freely at your side.
- Use small body movements to gently swing your arm forward and back for 15 to 20 seconds.
- Then, switch to moving your arm side to side for another 15 to 20 seconds.
- Finally, move your affected arm in a circular motion for 15 to 20 seconds.
- Repeat this sequence two to three more times throughout the day.
- Passive rotational stretches
2. Passive rotational stretches
Purpose: Passive rotational stretches for your shoulder are intended to help stretch muscles at the front and back of your shoulder, and they can help reduce shoulder tendinitis pain.
How to do passive rotational stretches:
- Hold a yardstick or short broomstick behind your back with one hand, and lightly grasp the other end with your other hand.
- Gently pull the stick horizontally away from your affected shoulder until you feel a stretch in the front of the affected shoulder. Don’t stretch your shoulder so far that it’s painful.
- Hold for 30 seconds; then relax for 30 seconds.
- Move the stick in front of you, and grasp it with your unaffected hand and cup the other end of the stick with your affected hand.
- Keeping the elbow of the shoulder you’re stretching against the side of your body, push the stick horizontally until you feel a stretch in the back of your shoulder. Ease the stretch a bit if it feels painful.
- Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, and then relax your shoulder.
Agile Virtual PT offers stretches and more for your shoulder tendinitis pain
You can find stretches and more for your shoulder tendinitis pain at Agile Virtual PT. Our team is primed to help you develop a personalized treatment plan for your shoulder issue, and we can do so in a completely virtual environment. You can start by doing a free virtual screening with one of our more than 400 licensed clinicians. Then, your virtual PT specialist can do regular online video sessions with you until you’re ready to get back to your normal routine.
Contact our team today for more information about our shoulder pain treatment services or to schedule your free virtual screening.