Rotator Cuff Exercises

Most of us lead stressful and jet setting lifestyles which seldom leave time for everything except work, sleeping and eating. When our bodies are young, then they bear the brunt of these unhealthy schedules without a murmur. However, with age there are certain parts of our body which become more vulnerable than the others. One of these is the rotator cuff which is situated in the shoulder.

An occasional throbbing pain in your upper arm can be a sign of an injured rotator cuff. If ignored, these injuries can get worse and cause you sleepless nights. The only way to prevent such rotator cuff injuries is by the right kind of rotator cuff exercises.

You can warm up by just stretching your arms and shoulders. Once you are through with stretching them, you can start by bending at the waist. Let your arms hang loose at your side. Shift your arms back and forth while keeping your shoulder and arm relaxed. These rotator cuff exercises need to be done gently and slowly.

Here are some of the exercises which target the rotator cuff specifically. Each of these exercises needs to be repeated about 30 times. You can also add some weights to the exercises but make sure that they are not so heavy that you get tired in the first few reps. A good idea is to start with about 2 ounces of weight and build up as you grow stronger.
The ideal starting position for this exercise is to lie on your stomach on a bed or a table.  Start by keeping your hand down and elbow bent at a right angle and raise your left arm to the shoulder level. Then, raise your left hand to the shoulder level by keeping your elbow in bent position. Slowly bring your hand back to your side. Perform about thirty reps of the exercise and then switch to the right hand.

1. For this exercise you need to put a towel roll under your right armpit and lie on your right. Bend your elbow at a right angle and let your left arm remain at your side. Let the forearm rest palm down against your chest. Imitating the backhand swing motion in tennis, you need to raise your left forearm to the shoulder level by rolling your shoulder out. Repeat for about thirty times and then switch sides.

2. This exercise resembles the forehand tennis swing. Start by lying on the right side and let your left arm rest on the left side. Your right forearm needs to rest on the table and you need to bend your right elbow at a right angle. Then raise your right forearm to the chest by rolling your right shoulder in. Lower the forearm and repeat. After doing about thirty reps, you need to switch sides.

These are some of the rotator cuff exercises which can help in strengthening and toning the muscles of your shoulder and rotator cuff. Read more about rotator cuff surgery recovery here.