Shoulders attract pain. Whether rotator cuff injury or frozen shoulder or pinched nerve or post-surgery abrasions. Expect pain when the integrity of this exceedingly complex and vulnerable area is compromised through accident, overuse, or surgery. Expect restricted range of motion. Expect sleepless nights.
What to do? For all the above, it is critical to rehab very methodically, starting with encouraging movement (any movement, however minimal). When injured, your body’s instinct will be to protect itself from further injury. However, this is counter-productive.
Immobility slows down healing, reduces body fluid exchange, lubrication, movement, and a downward spiral kicks in. The shoulder easily becomes chronically inflamed. Movement within your pain-free zone, however, works miracles: toning nerves & muscles as well as encouraging production and moving lubricating body fluids around injured parts. Stubborn pains are often in inflamed ligaments, rather than muscles.
The basic principle is to open the shoulder joint, take pressure off sensitive nerves, then gradually increase range of motion. Much later, gradually add greater resistance, first with body weight then, stretch bands preferably.
I’ll explain the Step One Shoulder Opener exercise: Standing, bend forward at the waist, letting both arms hang from gravity. Note & record over a ruler or other gauge or marking on paper how far forward-backward, left-right you are able to move the arm hanging with the weight of gravity.
Follow-up with a 2nd bent-over movement: rotate the hanging arm clockwise, then counter-clockwise, noting & recording the diameter of your circles, perhaps measuring as above (always date the records). The measurement provides positive, encouraging feedback over time.
With intense pain, try a hot Cryopac before the exercise and a cold Cryopac after the exercise. Perform these at least for 2 minutes upon rising from bed, or going to bed. Perform these during the day as pain permits.
Sleeping on the sore shoulder will increase morning pain. Try cold packs before bedtime. Avoid sleeping with body weight on the inflamed shoulder.
Please use all the methods to restore shoulders as best as possible. Persist! Persist! Persist! It reduced my shoulder rehab by several months. There is no doubt that these guidelines, if followed in a self-disciplined way, will reduce your pain and provide greater freedom of movement for your shoulders. The extra sense of independent self-empowerment is an additional important psychological bonus!
