Shoulder Impingement – 5 Exercises to fix your pain TODAY!
Did you know that a shoulder impingement is one of the most common causes of shoulder pain? In fact, the majority of shoulder pain patients we treat have signs of impingement during to their daily activities.
Recently, a patient came into the clinic complaining of general shoulder pain. He was unable to bring his arm above his head! He was an electrician and after a long day of work he felt like him arm would get “stuck” and his muscles were exhausted.
After his initial assessment, he was provided education on his condition, manual therapy treatment and home exercises to relieve the pain. And after a few weekly visits to physiotherapy, he is back at work with full mobility and pain free!
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In this article you will learn what causes shoulder impingement, signs that suggest you have it, and five effective exercises to help you reduce it!
1. Pec/Doorway Stretch
When you have tight chest muscles it can pull your shoulder joint forward and down! This position decreases the space between the bones in your shoulder joint and causes more shoulder impingement. By stretching out the chest muscles, you can reduce the tension on your shoulder and create more room for those tendons to move around!
- Begin by finding a doorway to do this stretch
- Bring your arms out to the side at around shoulder height (this movement should be pain free!)
- Bend your elbow and ensure your hand, forearm and elbow are supported by the doorframe
- Your arm should be horizontal to the ground and your forearm should lie up along the doorframe
- While standing in the doorway, take a small step and slowly lean forward. You should begin to feel a stretch in the front of your shoulder
- Hold the stretch for 30 seconds and repeat four times!
2. Wall Angel
We often find that patients are unable to raise their arms over their head without compromising their neck and upper back posture. This exercise helps you learn to keep an upright posture AND raise your arms overhead. This allows your shoulder blade to move freely and decreases impingement.
- Stand with your back to the wall
- Bring your arms out to your sides with the back of your hand against the wall
- While maintaining hand position against the wall, slowly lift your arms above head (do not go past the point of pain!)
- Slowly lower your arms and return to neutral.
- Repeat!
3. Foam Roller Stretch
This exercise combines both a pec stretch AND practicing getting your arms overhead while having good posture. And, it can feel a bit easier than a wall angle because you are laying on your back!
- Position foam roller on your upper back (between your shoulder blades is a great place to start!)
- Bring your arms up towards your head
- Place the foam roller on your upper back, picking ONE spot on the spine
- Glently lower your shoulder and hips, with your back extending over the foam roller
- Make sure you keep your core tight throughout the movement (avoid aggravating your low back)
- Hold for 5 seconds, and then lift your shoulders and hips
- Repeat 5 times per area of the back!
4. Scapular Retractions
We find that poor posture is typically a contributing factor to shoulder impingements. When the shoulder are slouching forward and down, this stretches the back muscles, making them harder to activate when moving your arm – contributing to your pain! This exercise focuses on optimizing the position of your shoulder blades to help your arm move easily!
- Begin by sitting on a chair or standing with upright posture
- Bring your shoulder blades down and back – like you are trying to hold a pen between your shoulder blades!
- Hold that position for 20 seconds.
Repeat!
5. Active Assisted Range of Motion
A key clinical sign of a shoulder impingement is the onset of pain when you bring your arm out to the side and just above head height. Our bodies love movement and it is important to keep your shoulder moving pain free. This exercise targets pain free movement while keeping your aggravated shoulder at ease. You will need a broom stick, cane, or any other long pole around your house for this exercise!
- Begin with holding the pole with your palm facing forward on the injured side and the palm facing back on the uninjured side
- Using the strength of your unaffected side, begin slowly raising your injured arm out to the side
- Do not go past the point of pain!
- Lower back down and repeat 20 times!
These home exercises are a great place to start if you have been feeling signs of shoulder impingement. However, the shoulder is a complex joint and basic exercises don’t always work for everyone. If you are unsure what is causing your shoulder pain, want some extra help improving your posture, or find you’re not getting the improvement you want, we are here to help!
Call our office today or book an appointment online to schedule your consultation with our physiotherapist and find out how physiotherapy can help you live a pain-free life.
FAQs
How do you know if you have Shoulder Impingement?
– Pain or difficulty reaching your arms overhead
– Pain or difficulty reaching behind your back
– Persistent pain without any mechanism of injury
– Shoulder muscles feeling “weak”
Does physiotherapy help Shoulder Impingement?
The research supports that physiotherapy rehabilitation helps decrease pain and increase function in the shoulder. Physiotherapy can help with shoulder mobility, strengthening and postural corrections. A physiotherapist will use manual therapy to help decrease pain and increase function for a shoulder impingement.
How long does a shoulder impingement take to heal?
The prognosis of a shoulder impingement depends on a variety of factors including age, severity and contributing factors. Typically, most shoulder impingements will heal in 3-6 months, but more severe cases may take up to a year.