Have you ever wondered how many of us have experienced shoulder pain? The answer is up to 70%! The pain is usually caused by previous injuries, trauma or overuse. Any cause could be sports, certain sports increase your risk of getting shoulder pain/injuries. Examples of these sports would be swimming, baseball, gymnastics, tennis – any sport that has lots of repetitive movements or overhead movements.
The best way to prevent yourself from getting shoulder pain would be to properly strengthen your shoulder stability muscles and work it into your exercise routine. Here are top 3 exercises you can use to bulletproof your shoulders!
- Resisted external rotation
How to:
- This can be done in side lying with a dumbbell or standing with a resistance band/cable.
- If done in right side lying, lay on your side keeping your shoulder pointed towards the ceiling.
- Use a weight between 1-3kg (i do not recommend anything heavier).
- Place a towel under your right elbow and lightly press down.
- Start with your hand in front of your belly and lift the weight towards the ceiling.
- It should be a slow and controlled movement.
- Perform 15-20 repetitions to increase muscular endurance.
- Scapula push ups
How to:
- Start in a high plank with hands directly under shoulders.
- Keep core and glutes tight and keep spinal neutral, keeping elbow straight throughout.
- Picture a coin between your shoulder blades and pinch while lowering your chest towards the ground.
- Push your hands apart and push shoulder blades apart and chest away from ground.
- It should be a small controlled movement.
- Perform 15-20 repetitions to increase muscular endurance.
- Low rows
How to:
- Start standing in front of a resistance band or cable machine
- Arms outstretched but not locked, keep spinal neutral and core tight with knees unlocked.
- Start by picturing a coin between the base of your shoulder blades, squeeze your shoulder blades and pull the band towards your naval
- This should be a slow and controlled movements
- Perform 15-20 repetitions to increase muscular endurance.
By Physiotherapist, Vanessa Boon