Exercises to Help Tendinitis in the Shoulder

Tendinitis in the shoulder is a condition associated with serious pain, discomfort, inflammation, swelling and shoulder stiffness. This pain is typically experienced in the joint of the shoulder and can significantly limit your mobility. Tendinitis is a condition in which the bicipital tendon and the rotator cuff tendon become swollen and painful. This condition is often identified in people over 40 years of age, in people that overuse their arms in sports or in people that have developed a condition due to repetitive motion.

  1. Preparation for Exercise

    • Exercises can be performed for shoulder tendinitis relief. Before conducting any exercises for tendinitis, you will want to gently heat the area: this will help to relax the muscles in the shoulder so they are not as stiff during exercise. You can use a heat pack that you can warm up in a microwave oven. Make sure the pack is warm and will not burn your skin before use, and place the warm pack on the shoulder for 15 minutes.

    Exercise 1

    • First, stand up straight with your feet apart to maintain balance; do not over extend your legs. Find your center of gravity by keeping your feet aligned with your shoulders. Keep both of your arms at rest at your sides and slowly bend forward at the waist until your upper body is parallel to the floor: as you do so, let your arms gently fall forward. Now, swing your arms out straight in front of you slowly so that they are head level and pointing forward. Follow this move by slowly returning your arms to their hanging position. Repeat this exercise 10 times. As your shoulder areas strengthen, you can add 2-pound free weights to the exercise for further shoulder development; do not, however, do the exercise if it increases your pain levels.

    Exercise 2

    • Another easy shoulder exercise for tendinitis relief involves standing in front of a doorway and using the door frame for resistance. Stand straight with your feet apart and aligned with your shoulders. Put both of your arms out in front of you with your elbows bent at a ninety degree angle. Place each of your hands on the doorway frame: now push your body forward while using the frame to resist your movement forward: do this slowly without bouncing to prevent further injury. Return to your original standing position slowly and repeat 10 times. Work your way up to 20 and 30 repetitions slowly, as your comfort levels determine.

    Additional Relief

    • You might want to ice the tender area of your shoulder after conducting exercises for tendinitis relief if the exercises have proved to irritate the condition a bit. You can wrap an ice pack in a towel and place the pack on the affected area for 15 to 20 minutes in an effort to alleviate swelling; ice is a natural anesthetic too, so it will help to alleviate some of your discomfort as well.

    Medical Attention

    • It is important that you consult with your doctor before you begin any kind of exercises to alleviate shoulder tendinitis. Sometimes the condition first requires treatment by a medical professional because the condition is actually caused by an infection in the shoulder region requiring antibiotics for treatment. If the pain is due to a sports-related or strain-related injury, you may require treatment with corticosteroids to diminish the swelling of the area, and sometimes, extreme tendinitis must be treated with surgical methods.