Sports Medicine Tip: Preventing Shoulder Injuries
Warm up with Stretches to Reduce and Prevent Shoulder Pain
Use these exercises to strengthen the four rotator cuff muscles. Begin with two- or three-pound weights and do 3 sets of 10 reps twice a week.
Supraspinatus, the muscle that helps the deltoid raise the arm to the side and assists with outward arm rotation. Exercise: Hold dumbbells by your sides in a sitting position then raise both your hands straight out to the sides. Lower slowly.
Infraspinatus and Teres Minor, two muscles that help pull the arms downward (as in a pull-up). Exercise: Lie on your side on a bench with weight in hand, your elbow touching your hip and your arm bent at a right angle. Rotate your arm upward, pivoting your elbow as you lift the weight away from the bench. Slowly lower.
Subscapularis, a muscle on the front of the shoulder blade that assists with inward rotation of the arm. Exercise: With your elbow at your side and your forearm at a 90-degree angle, turn sideways. Turn and repeat on the opposite side.


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