Shoulder Impingement Rehab & Recovery 

Stretching Exercises for Shoulder Impingement

Stretching your shoulder is an important part of any shoulder rehab program.  In particular, exercises targeting mobility of your pectoralis minor muscle, thoracic spine, and posterior shoulder are important.

Increasing the length of your pectoralis minor pulls your shoulder blade back.  This improves posture and increases the available space for your rotator cuff.  Improving extension of your thoracic spine improves posture and overhead shoulder mobility. Stretching the back of your shoulder creates greater space for any compressed soft tissues. 

For the best results perform stretching exercises daily.

Rotator Cuff Exercises for Shoulder Impingement

The primary job of your rotator cuff is to center the ball of your arm bone (humerus) in the socket of your shoulder blade.  Weakness of your rotator cuff causes the ball to migrate upwards into the bone above it leading to impingement.  Once your  shoulder becomes painful, your rotator cuff muscles shut down leading to a vicious cycle of more pain and weakness.

It is imperative that your rotator cuff is strengthened in order to restore proper shoulder function. There are 4 muscles of the rotator cuff.  They are the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis.  These muscles function together and are all strengthened during rehabilitation.

Strengthening exercises are performed 3-4 times per week.  Start with a weight that allows you to perform 12 to 15 repetitions for 3 sets.