12 Exercises To Relieve Tendonitis In The Shoulder

In this article you will learn some warm-up, stretching and strengthening exercises that can be helpful for tendinitis of the shoulder. Read on and see a specialist if you want to do it.

Tendonitis on the shoulder can be a painful experience for those affected. It is caused by improper stress or repetitive movements. Anyone can get such an inflammation.

This injury limits the range of motion and thus interferes with the normal course of daily life. However, some warm-up, stretching, and strengthening exercises can help.

This article will tell you what tendinitis is, why it occurs, how to treat it, and what exercises the patient can do to recover.

Tendonitis on the shoulder: what is it and why does it occur?

Tendonitis of the shoulder is inflammation that affects multiple areas of the joint, from the biceps to the rotator cuff. Some of the most important factors associated with this injury include the following:

• Age : In elderly patients, joint stiffness due to osteoarthritis can be a predisposing factor.
• Intensive sporting activity : In athletes, the effort and the repetition of certain movements and even the range of motion trigger for this type of injury are. This is common for pitchers in baseball, for example.
• Working with weights or repetitive movements such as draftsman, programmer, bricklayer and blacksmith.
• Other causes : sudden movements or situations that cause poor blood supply to the tendons.

Symptoms and diagnosis of tendinitis on the shoulder

The most obvious sign of tendinitis on the shoulder is the inflammation itself. But it does not occur alone, it is accompanied by pain.

The patient is sensitive to muscle movement or stretching, or when pressure is placed on the joint or when it is felt. In addition, he may lack strength. Because of these three elements (inflammation, pain, and lack of strength), tendinitis of the shoulder limits a person’s ability to perform daily activities.

In addition, the doctor performs several investigations to diagnose this injury, including X-rays, ultrasound, MRI and even a CT scan. Another step is a medical examination and a detailed analysis of the patient’s medical history.

Possible treatments

As for treatment, there is an option for arthroscopy for tendinitis on the shoulder. However, an operation is only reserved for the most severe cases. Instead, more conservative alternatives are preferred.

In addition to rest and application of cold, the doctor prescribes physiotherapy with the aim of improving the mobility, stability and strength of the affected joint. This is achieved through various exercises, stretches and massages.

Other techniques such as electrotherapy and ultrasound are also used. In the case of drug treatment, pain relievers and anti-inflammatories are recommended.

Exercises to relieve tendinitis in the shoulder

Now let’s look at some exercises we can do to relieve or eliminate tendinitis in the shoulder. We’ll break them down into warm-up, stretching, and strengthening movements, each with its own instructions.

Warm up exercises

The first exercise we’ll do is the pendulum. It consists of tilting or bending the body, trying to bring the trunk as parallel as possible to the ground. The affected arm hangs down and has to turn, making small circles. The other can rest on the back of a chair or a railing.

The next step in the warm up is to stand in an open door frame and place your hands on the frame at shoulder height. Then take a small step forward; first one foot, then the other. You always have to keep your back straight. Try not to force the joint movement.

stretching

After we have warmed up, we can move on to the stretching exercises. We start with the frontal stretching. This consists of bringing the hand of the affected arm to the shoulder of the other arm and trying to raise the elbow a little, using the free hand to help. You should hold this position for about five seconds.

The stretch with support and elevation is performed while standing, with the hand of the affected side placed on the wall a little above the shoulder. The fingers are then stretched, moving the palm away from the surface and moving or pulling the fingers upward to raise the shoulder.

The next exercise is stretching with an elastic band. Ideally, you should use a rehab elastic band, but if you don’t have a band on hand, a towel can also be useful. Place the back of your hand on the affected side behind your back and your other hand over your head. Both hands hold the tape tight. The upper hand pulls gently to raise the other hand. There is also a variation on this exercise without a towel or tape, where you put the hand of the affected arm behind your back and try to lift it as far as possible.

We can end the stretch with passive internal rotation. For this exercise we will need a staff or stick (a broomstick will also work). You have to hold the stick behind your back to do this. With the hand of the unaffected arm, stretch so that the other arm reaches the middle of the waist.

Strengthening exercises

We now move on to the strengthening exercises, starting with strengthening with rope. To do this, we take a rope or ribbon that is tied to a door or gate. With our face to the wall, we stand in front of the wall at a distance of one meter. We now pull the rope or tape back with the hand of the affected shoulder in a rowing motion.

This is followed by the external 90-degree turn with an extended arm. Start in the same position as in the previous exercise, with the difference that the movement is carried out with a straight arm. Lift it up until your hand is level with your head, then return to the starting position.

Now we come to the exercise of internal rotation with an elastic band. To do this, we have to stand on the side with the affected shoulder facing the wall. We take the elastic band with this hand, hold the elbow by the side and stretch it until we reach the elbow on the other side with the wrist.

The external rotation exercise with elastic band is similar to the previous exercise. In this variant, however, the affected shoulder is not the one facing the wall. Therefore, the movement is carried out outwards.

We can finish our workout with a few bends against the wall. These are similar to pushups. The difference is that they are done standing up with the weight falling towards the wall.

Always seek advice from a doctor before doing any exercises with tendinitis in the shoulder

Remember that if you have tendinitis of the shoulder, you should only do these exercises with the consent of your doctor. In other words, if your doctor recommended bed rest, you won’t be able to do this or any other exercise.

In addition, the exercises must be supervised by an orthopedic surgeon or physical therapist after consulting them beforehand.

If you’re in pain or don’t see any signs of improvement, further investigation or surgical strategies may be needed. In this case, it is best to stop exercising immediately.