Our shoulder is the laxest joint in our body. A large head of our arm bone (humerus) is held in alliance with a fluid shallow cup of wing bone (scapula – shoulder blade) by four fluid muscles. Picking objects from height (e.g., loft), working overhead (painting of ceiling), forcible throwing of objects, lifting heavy weights, and injuries to the shoulder (even sudden jerks during travel) can strain these fluid shoulder muscles and lead to stiffness and pain (frozen shoulder). Cervical spondylosis, swelling of the liver (right shoulder), and heart attack (left shoulder) can also cause pain in the shoulder. Frozen shoulder is common in diabetic patients. Exercise is the best treatment for all types of shoulder pain. Rest or immobilization can lead to more stiffness. Calcium and supplements of Vitamins B and D are also prescribed, along with exercises for shoulder pain.
Shoulder Exercises
See general instructions about exercise
While holding onto a table or the back of a chair, bend forward a little and let your arm hang straight down. Then, swing your arm back and forth like a pendulum. Next, move your arm in a circular manner - a fluid circle (dinner-plate size) to start with - clockwise and anticlockwise.
Wall crawling/climbing: Stand facing a wall. Place one hand on the wall at eye level so that your hand is at 90 degrees to the wall. Make your fingers crawl up the wall, climbing as high as you can. Repeat this exercise with another hand.
Lift both your shoulders and maintain an upheld position for some time. Bring them down slowly. You may hold a fluid weight while lifting shoulders for better muscle strengthening. The stiffness of shoulder muscles can be reduced by moving them back and forth.
Lie on your back. Put your hands alongside at 90 degrees, as shown in the picture. Then, while keeping your elbows on the ground, lift your hands slowly up. Next, move your hands at elbows in 180 degrees up and down.
Lie on your belly. Keep both hands alongside your body without bending at elbows. Interlock fingers and stretch your hands. Lift your painful hand slowly with the help of another hand.
Lying on your belly, keep your hands and palms on the ground. Move hands clockwise in 180 degrees and bring them above your head.
Using a stick helps to move a painful shoulder with the help of a normal hand. Hold the stick horizontally in front of you, as shown in the picture. Rise your hands as much as you can. Do not bend your elbows. Then, hold on for some time and bring them down. Hold the stick on your backside now. Move the stick up and down. Shoulder exercises also include moving an uplifted stick to the right and left in standing as well as in a lying down position.
Using a suitable weight (dumbbells, sandbag, or a water-filled bottle) gives more stretch to shoulder muscles and increases their strength. Lie on your right side with your left arm at your side. Hold a weight in your left hand with your forearm across your abdomen. Raise your forearm, as shown in the picture. Be sure to hold your elbow on your side. Do the same exercise with your right hand while lying on the left side. Holding a fluid towel-roll under your arm helps to keep your shoulder straight.
Lie on your abdomen at the edge of a bed and let your hand hang down, as shown in the picture. Then, hold a weight in your hand and lift it back and forth.
Hold arms alongside your body in a standing position with weights in both your hands. Raise your arms to bring the weights to shoulder level. Weights can also be lifted back and forth to shoulder level in a standing position.
You can do various exercises with the help of rubber (or Thera-band) under the supervision of a qualified physiotherapist.
You can do many exercises with a rope around the pulley fitted on a wall or roof.
Yoga postures such as bhujangasan, parvatasan, tadasan, naukasan and gomukhasan also help to reduce shoulder pain.
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General instructions about exercise
Do exercises in fresh, pleasant environment.
It is better to exercise on empty stomach (morning/evening).
Do not eat anything for about an hour after exercise. Sips of water or other fluids are allowed.
Wear comfortable cotton clothes during exercise.
Use proper footwear during exercise. Use of sports or canvas shoes recommended.
Breathe in and out normally from nose. Avoid mouth-breathing.
Concentrate on your exercise and exercise slowly. Never exercise hastily; do not jerk your joints.
Rest for a minute or so if you feel fatigue.
Concentrate on the joint or muscle group for which you are exercising.
Learn exercises, especially those for shoulder, from a physiotherapist.
One should feel relaxation of muscles after exercise. Increase in pain after exercise may indicate wrong method. Stop exercise and meet your physiotherapist again in such situation.
Be relaxed and maintain proper posture during exercise. It is good to look into a mirror during initial days of exercise.
Maintain a posture for about 10 seconds and return back slowly to resting position.
Start low - for some minutes - and increase your work-out gradually.
Exercise one sided limbs at a time initially. Simultaneous exercise for both limbs will be possible after some days.
Exercise twice each day. Regularity is of utmost importance.
Look for a friend if exercising alone gets boring. Exercise accompanied by music is quite entertaining.
Balanced diet is also necessary appropriate benefits of exercise. Meal timings should be strictly adhered to. Consult a dietitian for reducing weight.
General instructions for yoga practice
Yoga postures should be practiced in a clean and fresh surrounding. Do the asanas on a soft and clean mattress. Use clean, light, loose and minimum clothing.
Do the asanas in morning or evening on empty stomach. Eat light food half an hour after completing practice.
Warm-up, in the form of Soorya-namaskar is desirable prior to asanas.
All movements should be gentle and controlled. Do not jerk your body. Do not over-stretch. Do not use any force to overdo.
Watch your breathing. Breathing should be easy and natural. Exhale while you bend forwards and inhale while bending backwards. Never hold breath.
One should be comfortable in any asana. Do whatever little you can. Do not try to overstretch to attain a pose as given in pictures. Trembling during asana implies overdoing.
Steadiness is of utmost importance. Period of staying in a single pose will increase with practice. Try to contract only those muscles that are required for a particular pose while relaxing all other muscles.
Draw your mind away from your body and concentrate on breathing on attaining desired pose.
Select and practice a few asanas and try to master them.
There should not be any pain, fatigue or sweating during asanas. Do a resting asana if any of these appear. One should feel enthusiastic after a yoga session.
45 minutes of yoga practice each day is desirable. Pranayama may also be done for a few minutes. Regularity is the key to success.