Rotator Cuff Strengthening Should be As Simple As A B C

Rotator cuff strengthening exercises are the key to shoulder health, whether you are trying to get stronger shoulders, recover from a shoulder injury or just stay fit. In my case it was a shoulder problem that started me looking into ways to strengthen my rotator cuff but whatever your motivation you can learn from my story.

Shoulders are the most complicated joint that we have. They have to be simply so that they can give us the wide range of movement that we enjoy. They can move our arms in just about any direction. This ability comes about because the shoulder is a very shallow ball and socket joint. The ball at the head of the humerus or upper arm bone sits on a shallow socket of bone at the edge of the shoulder blade. If you think of this as like a soccer ball sitting on a saucer you get apicture of teh make up of teh joint.

Although the shape of the shoulder gives us the benefit of a wide range of movement it also gives the shoulder its inherent weakness which is that it is very easy to dislocate the shoulder by knocking the ball off the saucer.

Along with ligaments and cartilage the muscles of the rotator cuff are designed to prevent dislocation by holding the ball on the saucer giving us stability in the joint. Whenever we move our shoulders in a way that puts a strain on them, our cuff muscles take over to pull the arm into the socket. They are worked hardest when we rotate our arm, hence the name. Whenever we lift our arm out to the side or front we put an extra load on the rotator cuff. This is why these movements hurt if you have a rotator cuff injury.

So a weak or damaged rotator cuff equates to a weak shoulder. Research has shown that weight lifters who include rotator cuff strengthening exercises in their regime can lift higher weights than those who neglect this group of muscles.

So the secret to healthier shoulders is to strengthen the rotator cuff muscles.

Unfortunately it is never quite that simple if you have a damaged rotator cuff. I had managed to tear my left rotator cuff lifting something that was too heavy. I was booked for shoulder surgery to correct the problem but through exercise managed to avoid surgery.

The first thing I had to do was allow my shoulder to rest properly avoiding any of the movements that caused pain. I had to stop driving and rearrange my desk at work to help with this. At the same time I treated the pain and inflammation with anti inflammatory drugs.

Then I started some stretches to help return mobility to my joint. Several months of not working properly had caused some stiffness.

Next I began a series of exercises designed to stabilise and strengthen not only the rotator cuff but the whole shoulder. These were low resistance, low weight exercises that gradually built up over a few weeks. Because I had actually torn my rotator cuff it was important to strengthen the other shoulder muscles in order that they could support the cuff while it healed. With twenty two muscles involved in moving your shoulder there are plenty to help out as long as you get them working properly.

It took me a couple of months to get my shoulder back to one hundred percent pain free movement. It would have been much easier to have started exercising my rotator cuff before I tore it. So take my advice, if it's not too late, and start working on your shoulders.

3 Great Ab Workout Exercises< Prev		Next >Rotator Cuff Exercises Saved My Golf Game