The pain, discomfort and restricted motion caused by injury to shoulder muscles and tendons have always been well known problems to athletes.
In recent times, as more people take up sport and exercise for its health benefits, ordinary people who are not professional sportsmen or sportswomen can find that wear and tear on their shoulder has given them a rotator cuff injury.
Those who participate in swimming, baseball pitching and football are particularly prone to this injury, but anyone who uses vigorous arm movement in any sport or activity can get it.
Repeated overhead arm motion is often the root cause of rotator cuff injury - it is the long term and repetitive nature of the motion, rather than one particular jerk or twist of the shoulder which is often the problem.
After the injury has been diagnosed, rotator cuff exercise is often recommended to rehabilitate and strengthen the shoulder, and so avoid future injury or rotator cuff tears.
This type of exercise should only be done after the pain and swelling have passed, following a period of rest.
Rotator cuff exercise programs are more complex than many exercise regimes, because of the number and inter-relationship of the muscles and tendons which hold the humerus to the shoulder blade, and allow the upper arm to perform its full range of motions.
Rotator cuff exercise usually incorporates many different individual exercises designed to strengthen particular muscles one at a time.
These exercises include holding and raising a light dumbbell, while the elbow is supported; lying on the side and raising a dumbbell toward the ceiling; and (while standing) raising a dumbbell towards the horizontal, holding it with the thumb pointing down.
It is often a physical therapist who will demonstrate these exercises, and make sure you are doing them properly, but with the availability of good medical information on the Internet, it is now possible to get rotator cuff exercise guidance from various specialist web sites.
Often these sites are created by physical therapists themselves, who have experience in the treatment of all types of rotator cuff injury.
This type of injury might include impingement, shoulder weakness, rotator cuff tendonitis, rotator cuff tears, and bursitis.
Many people who take up rotator cuff exercise want to know how long they have to persist with an exercise program before they will see some positive results and improvement in their shoulder strength and mobility.
Most therapists agree that three to six weeks is needed before recovery is achieved, though some people may need even longer.
If you do decide to follow an online program of rotator cuff exercises, bear in mind that they are mostly designed to be done at home, and you will need access to basic equipment like light dumbbells and a stability bar or bench.
In recent times, as more people take up sport and exercise for its health benefits, ordinary people who are not professional sportsmen or sportswomen can find that wear and tear on their shoulder has given them a rotator cuff injury.
Those who participate in swimming, baseball pitching and football are particularly prone to this injury, but anyone who uses vigorous arm movement in any sport or activity can get it.
Repeated overhead arm motion is often the root cause of rotator cuff injury - it is the long term and repetitive nature of the motion, rather than one particular jerk or twist of the shoulder which is often the problem.
After the injury has been diagnosed, rotator cuff exercise is often recommended to rehabilitate and strengthen the shoulder, and so avoid future injury or rotator cuff tears.
This type of exercise should only be done after the pain and swelling have passed, following a period of rest.
Rotator cuff exercise programs are more complex than many exercise regimes, because of the number and inter-relationship of the muscles and tendons which hold the humerus to the shoulder blade, and allow the upper arm to perform its full range of motions.
Rotator cuff exercise usually incorporates many different individual exercises designed to strengthen particular muscles one at a time.
These exercises include holding and raising a light dumbbell, while the elbow is supported; lying on the side and raising a dumbbell toward the ceiling; and (while standing) raising a dumbbell towards the horizontal, holding it with the thumb pointing down.
It is often a physical therapist who will demonstrate these exercises, and make sure you are doing them properly, but with the availability of good medical information on the Internet, it is now possible to get rotator cuff exercise guidance from various specialist web sites.
Often these sites are created by physical therapists themselves, who have experience in the treatment of all types of rotator cuff injury.
This type of injury might include impingement, shoulder weakness, rotator cuff tendonitis, rotator cuff tears, and bursitis.
Many people who take up rotator cuff exercise want to know how long they have to persist with an exercise program before they will see some positive results and improvement in their shoulder strength and mobility.
Most therapists agree that three to six weeks is needed before recovery is achieved, though some people may need even longer.
If you do decide to follow an online program of rotator cuff exercises, bear in mind that they are mostly designed to be done at home, and you will need access to basic equipment like light dumbbells and a stability bar or bench.
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