Shoulder pendulum exercise

Video Transcript

Hey everyone, Dr. Alibhai here. Today, I’m going to show you a great mobility exercise for your shoulder. Sometimes our shoulders can become really achy and painful, making it difficult to move. A great way to offload your shoulder and get some relief is to move it through some pain-free ranges of motion. Let’s find that range.

The best way to offload your shoulder is by using a countertop or a chair. Get into a lunge stance and make sure your back is in a neutral position. You may need to use something higher up if necessary. Support your body weight with one hand on the chair. If the shoulder in question is injured, simply let it dangle toward the ground.

Allow it to reach toward the ground without using any muscles; just let your whole shoulder move passively almost as if extending your hand toward the ground. Start making some circles with your arm. If this causes pain, switch to moving your arm back and forth, or side to side.

This is known as a pendulum exercise. Find the pendulum movement that is pain-free. If it feels just a little stiff, challenge that stiffness and make bigger circles. As your shoulder begins to improve, try even larger circles or switch the direction.

I personally enjoy the back-and-forth movements. If you want to add a little extra, you can introduce some end-range movements, moving your arm back up to higher positions or even forward. The goal is to keep the movements within pain-free ranges. If you feel stiffness, gently push into it. If there’s any pain, ease off a bit. Be creative and have fun with it—this should be a relaxing exercise.

Take some deep breaths while you do this and let me know how it goes. Take care.