Whether tossing a football, swimming, or painting the ceiling, you require a lot from your shoulders. Nevertheless, unlike the huge joints of your lower body, soft tissues are the main form of support for the shoulder.
The 4 rotator cuff muscles (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis) are the secret to providing stability to the shoulder complex. Given the relatively small size of these muscles and the amount of work that is required of them, they can be torn due to trauma or swollen from overuse.
Here are two essential ideas for keeping optimal rotator cuff health:
How to Check Your Rotator Cuff Muscles?
Self-assessment Range of Motion Test:
- Reach one hand behind your back. Can you slide your hand upwards along your spinal column, to touch the bottom of your shoulder blade?
- Reach one hand behind your head. Can you move it down your neck to touch in between your shoulder blades?
- Note any differences from one arm to the other.
Post-assessment range of motion exercises:
If there is any limitation, do the towel stretch to acquire flexibility:
- Place a towel behind your back, with one hand holding from the top and the other hand holding from the bottom.
- Try to walk your fingers together as well as gently pull from either direction, into the most restricted motion.
- Hold 15 to 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times.
Exercises to Strengthen the Rotator Cuff Muscles
Do these 3 exercises at a cable tower, beginning with sufficient weight to tiredness at 10 to 12 repetitions:
Internal Rotation:
Stand with your lifting arm closest to the cable machine, with your elbow bent to 90-degrees, according to iytmed.com. Turn your hand from outside to inwards, bringing your hand to your belly.
External Rotation:
Switch positions so that your lifting arm is farthest from the cable machine. Keep your elbow bent at 90-degrees and rotate your hand outwards from your abdomen.
Scaption: “Scapular aircraft elevation”
Just like a lateral shoulder fly, you raise your arm upwards on an angle 30-degrees forward of the frontal plane. Avoid your shoulder blade from raising to your ear.
Please watch the video explains how to strengthen rotator cuff at home:
