Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and bring your awareness to your shoulders, noticing how they feel. Chances are you'll feel some pain, tension, or sensation in this area.
Shoulder pain or tightness is common, affecting 18 to 26 percent of adults. Luckily, you can take steps to relieve discomfort in your shoulders.
Read on to learn how to do 10 simple shoulder exercises to relieve pain and tightness. These lengthening and strengthening exercises will also improve flexibility, increase your range of motion, and bring greater comfort and ease to your movements.
Do these simple exercises three to six times per week to relieve shoulder pain. Start with a 10-minute routine and gradually increase the duration as you get stronger and more flexible.
While doing these exercises, focus on relaxing and releasing any tension in your shoulders and anywhere else you feel tightness.
Stretch only to the degree that is comfortable on any given day. Don't push yourself beyond your limits, and discontinue the exercises if you experience pain that goes beyond mild discomfort.
This exercise helps increase flexibility and range of motion in your shoulder joint and the surrounding muscles. When doing this exercise, lower your arm if you feel any pain in your shoulder.
To deepen the stretch, lift your arm to shoulder height.
This exercise is a gentle way to loosen tension in your neck and shoulders.
To deepen this stretch:
This exercise promotes flexibility and range of motion in your shoulders.
To deepen the stretch, place your hands closer together along the towel or strap.
This exercise stretches your shoulder muscles. If the arm position is uncomfortable, do this exercise by holding opposite shoulders.
This exercise stretches your shoulders and neck. Keep your hips facing forward during this exercise. Allow the twist to start in your lower back.
This exercise is good for warming up your shoulder joints and increasing flexibility.
This stretch opens your chest and strengthens your shoulders.
This inversion pose strengthens and stretches the muscles in your shoulders and back.
This restorative pose helps relieve tension in your back, shoulders, and neck. Place a cushion under your forehead, chest, or legs for support.
This pose relieves tightness in your chest, shoulders, and upper back. Place a cushion or block under your head or shoulder for support.
In addition to shoulder exercises, you can try home remedies to ease pain and encourage healing.
Follow the RICE method by resting, icing, and compressing your shoulder. When possible, elevate your shoulder above heart level. You can also use a heating pad or take an epsom salt bath.
To ease pain, you may take over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Or try natural pain relievers such as turmeric, willow bark, or cloves. Apply a menthol rub, arnica cream, or essential oil blend to the affected area a few times per day.
Regular massage and acupuncture treatments can help relieve pain and bring balance to your body. You can also try manipulative therapies such as chiropractic adjustments, osteopathy, or Rolfing.
In addition to doing these exercises, you can prevent shoulder pain by following a few simple tips and guidelines:
Take care when you do activities that involve reaching for something overhead, carrying heavy objects, or bending forward. If you have to do these activities as part of your job, decide how you can move your body to minimize discomfort.
If you play sports that cause shoulder pain, make sure you're using proper form and technique.
See a doctor or physical therapist if you are unable to move your shoulders or if your pain worsens or doesn't improve after two weeks of treatment.
You should also see a doctor immediately if you have severe pain in both shoulders or both thighs or you have a fever.
To determine what's causing the pain and the best treatment plan, a doctor may do an X-ray, ultrasound scan, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.
These could be signs of polymyalgia rheumatica, a condition that warrants prompt treatment.
While shoulder pain is common, it can be prevented and treated. Do these exercises on a regular basis to relieve and prevent shoulder pain.
You can also try home remedies to treat shoulder pain on your own. Continuing the exercises and treatments even after you feel better will help prevent the pain from coming back.
Talk to your doctor before starting any exercise program if you have any medical conditions that could be affected.