Shoulder tendonitis is simply inflammation of one or more of the rotator cuff tendons. which all help to stabilise the shoulder when it moves.
A shoulder impingement, on the other hand, is a potentially worse injury. It can start when the supraspinatus tendon becomes inflamed and gets pinched or impinged. The supraspinatus tendon helps you to lift your arm up to the side or front which is why these movements hurt when you have an impinged shoulder. This tendon normally runs through a channel of bone at the top of your shoulder blade where your shoulder blade attaches to the collar bone. When it gets inflamed it can get too big for the channel and begin to get pinched whenever you move your arm. This is a shoulder impingement. Classic symptoms are pain when raising your arm to the side or front which gets worse with use, together with weakness in the shoulder.
Whether you have shoulder tendonitis or a shoulder impingement the exercises will be the same. However the timing may be slightly different.
What you are trying to do with shoulder impingement exercises is strengthen the whole shoulder. You use twenty two muscles when you move your shoulder and by strengthening all of them you can speed up the recovery of your rotator cuff. It is vital that you do not feel pain when exercising as this could be a sign of additional damage being done.
If you have a shoulder impingement it is vital to reduce the inflammation and rest the shoulder before you start any exercise. It may take a few weeks of rest and anti-inflammatory drugs before you are able to start exercising the shoulder. You might need to change the way in which you work or even stop driving for a while to avoid painful movements, but this is essential. Pain when you have a shoulder impingement is usually a sign that you are doing more damage. The contradiction is that you need to keep your shoulder moving to avoid developing frozen shoulder. So keep teh shoulder moving but avoid painful movements.
With both shoulder impingement and shoulder tendonitis, the exercises will tend to be quite gentle, focusing more on stretching, flexibility and control. The rotator cuff muscles are relatively small muscles which are designed to hold the arm in place in the shoulder joint. Small increases in strength of the rotator cuff can have a dramatic effect on shoulder health.
Most of us tend to neglect the rotator cuff as we get older so it is no surprise that the majority of shoulder problems come about in the over forties age group. Other people at risk are sportspeople and anyone who uses their shoulders a lot at work, reaching up to work.
Once you have had a shoulder injury it is advisable to include shoulder exercises in your morning routine two or three times a week just to help keep your shoulder healthy.
Posted in: Shoulder
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