Exercise Techniques That Can Delay Your Shoulder Injury Recovery
Physical exercise can heal or worsen your shoulder injury. You need to know what the different techniques can do to your shoulders so that you can avoid the dangerous ones. Here are five examples of exercise techniques that can delay your shoulder injury recovery:
Arms Straight Out
Any exercise that involves holding your arms and elbows straight is not good for your shoulder injury. This is because, when you have your arms at that position, it is the shoulders that bear most of the weight of your arms plus any weight you may be holding. The rotator cuff (the group of tissues that connect the upper arm to the shoulder blade) may then start malfunctioning under the increased stress and strain, further intensifying your shoulder injury.
Overhead Moves
Most exercises that involve lifting the arms upwards may also worsen shoulder injuries. Since you may not be sure which of these exercises to avoid, it's best to avoid them all until you can consult a professional physiotherapist. For example, overhead presses can cause shoulder injuries when one shoulder bears more weight than the other; the imbalance causes tightness in the affected shoulder's muscles.
Extreme Rotations
While the shoulder joint is designed for rotational movements, this doesn't mean that it can handle all forms of rotations if it is injured. The degree through which your shoulder can rotate, if it's injured, reduces. Therefore, trying to force a rotation beyond what the shoulder can handle at that time can only lead to more pain and injury.
Unbalanced Exercises
It is not just the type of exercise that matters, but also how you do them. If you have an injured shoulder, any exercise that involves unbalanced upper body movements is a recipe for disaster. For example, if you are lifting a weight, you assume it is safe to lift because you know you will be using both arms (and hence both shoulders) to handle it. However, if you don't stand or lift properly, the injured shoulder might end up bearing more weight than it can handle, resulting in aggravated injuries.
Overdoing Your Exercises
Lastly, you should take it easy if you are recovering from a shoulder injury. Even if you are doing the correct exercise with their correct techniques, you risk aggravating your injuries if you are doing too much of the exercises. Start slow and build up your repetitions as you heal.
This doesn't mean that you ought to avoid physical exercise until your shoulder injury heals. In fact, the correct physical exercise is necessary for healing your shoulder injury. Consult a physiotherapist, like one from Eastern Shore Physical Therapy, who knows what is helpful and what is injurious, and follow the therapist's instructions closely.