Shoulder surgery poses challenges, with recovery needing patience and suitable rehabilitation. Building rotator cuff muscles constitutes a main aspect of post-surgical rehabilitation, adding stability and function to the shoulder joint. This article presents five effective exercises designed for patients recovering from shoulder surgery.
Post-Surgical Rotator Cuff Rehabilitation
The rotator cuff includes four muscles that surround the shoulder joint, adding stability and allowing movement. After surgery, these muscles need gradual strengthening to aid recovery without affecting surgical repairs. The exercises below typically come into play during later rehabilitation phases, after initial healing and when your physiotherapist approves strengthening activities.
1. Pendulum Exercise
The pendulum exercise serves as a gentle starting point for most shoulder rehabilitation programmes, introducing controlled movement without placing significant stress on the healing tissues.
Technique: Stand beside a table and place your non-affected hand on the surface for support. Lean forward slightly and allow your affected arm to hang down naturally. Create a small, gentle swinging motion by moving your body weight rather than actively using the shoulder muscles. Begin with clockwise circles, then anti-clockwise, and finally forward and backward movements.
Progression: As comfort allows, you may gradually increase the diameter of the circles and the duration of the exercise. This movement helps to maintain mobility in the joint without taxing the healing tissues. Most physiotherapists recommend performing this exercise for 1-2 minutes, several times daily.
Benefits: This exercise increases blood flow to the shoulder area, decreases stiffness, and gently moves the joint through a limited range of motion without active muscle use of the rotator cuff.
2. Isometric Shoulder External Rotation
This exercise begins strengthening the external rotators of the shoulder without requiring movement, making it suitable for early-stage rehabilitation.
Technique: Stand with your affected arm at your side, elbow bent to 90 degrees. Position yourself next to a wall so that the back of your hand lightly touches the wall. Without moving your arm, gently press the back of your hand into the wall and hold for 5 seconds. Maintain normal breathing throughout.
Progression: Begin with 5-second holds and gradually work up to 10 seconds as strength improves. Aim for 10 repetitions, performed 2-3 times daily. As you advance, you may increase the pressure applied, but avoid any movement that causes pain.
Benefits: This exercise activates and builds the external rotator muscles of the rotator cuff without straining the surgical site, developing muscle control before adding more dynamic exercises.
3. Supine Assisted Shoulder Flexion
This exercise assists with forward-reaching motions using support from your unaffected arm.
Technique: Lie flat on your back with both arms at your sides. Clasp your hands together with fingers interlocked, using your unaffected arm to guide the movement. Slowly raise both arms up toward the ceiling and then overhead as far as comfort allows. Use your stronger arm to assist the affected side throughout the movement.
Progression: Initially, you may only achieve partial elevation. With time and healing, work toward greater range of motion. Perform 10 repetitions, once or twice daily. As strength improves, you may gradually reduce assistance from the unaffected arm.
Benefits: This exercise improves overhead range of motion while reducing rotator cuff activation. The supported movement allows for controlled motion through greater ranges as healing advances.
4. Side-Lying External Rotation
This more advanced exercise works the infraspinatus and teres minor muscles of the rotator cuff.
Technique: Lie on your non-affected side with your head supported on a pillow. Keep your affected arm alongside your body with the elbow bent to 90 degrees. Keeping your elbow against your side, slowly rotate your forearm upward. Move only through a pain-free range of motion.
Progression: Begin without any weight. As strength improves, your physiotherapist may suggest adding light resistance using a small dumbbell (starting with as little as 0.5 kg). Perform 10-15 repetitions for 2-3 sets with adequate rest between sets.
Benefits: This exercise targets the external rotator muscles of the rotator cuff, which typically weaken after surgery. Building these muscles adds stability to the shoulder joint for everyday tasks.
5. Standing Row
This exercise works the posterior shoulder muscles, including parts of the rotator cuff.
Technique: Stand facing a door with a resistance band secured in the closed door at about waist height. Grasp the band with your affected arm, palm facing inward. Position yourself far enough from the door to create mild tension in the band. Pull your elbow straight back, keeping it close to your body, squeezing your shoulder blade toward your spine.
Progression: Begin with light resistance and increase gradually as strength improves. Focus on proper form rather than resistance level. Perform 10-12 repetitions for 2-3 sets, allowing adequate rest between sets.
Benefits: This exercise builds the posterior rotator cuff and scapular stabilisers, which contribute to proper shoulder mechanics. Developing these muscles reduces future injury risk and promotes better shoulder function.
Conclusion
Rehabilitation after shoulder surgery follows a step-by-step approach with exercises that gradually challenge the healing tissues without overloading them. The five exercises outlined above form a basis for rotator cuff strengthening, with timing and technique affecting outcomes. Always follow your surgeon’s and physiotherapist’s advice, as recovery plans differ based on your surgical procedure and health background.
Schedule a consultation with our specialist today to develop a personalised shoulder rehabilitation programme tailored to your specific recovery needs.