Shoulder Mobility Exercises

Importance of shoulder mobility

Shoulder mobility exercises are important for multiple reasons. The more you strengthen and stretch your shoulders, the more they will contribute to a good posture. Stretching and strengthening also helps to ensure the stability of the shoulder joint to prevent injuries in the future. The more you work on mobility the greater your range of motion will be leading to a more functional lifestyle.

Try out these exercises to improve shoulder mobility.

Do not complete if you feel pain. Consult your health care provider if you do feel pain

Flexion & Extension

Start in a standing position with feet hip width apart, a strong core and shoulders in a neutral position. Reach your arms in front of you and up to the sky as high as you can go without pain. Then bring them back down to your sides and back past your hips as far as you can go without feeling any discomfort. These mobility exercises can be done everyday.

Shoulder rolls back and forth

Start in a standing position with feet hip width apart, a strong core and shoulders in a neutral position. You can complete this exercise by just rolling your shoulders with your hands down by your side, with your hands touching your shoulders or with arms straight in the air pivoting at the joint as you roll. Roll forward AND backward to move in both directions of movement.

Standing I-Y-Ts

Start in a standing position with feet hip width apart, a strong core and shoulders in a neutral position. Start your hands down by your sides and reach them straight up in front of you above your head in an “I” position. Bring your arms back down to your sides then lift them forward and up again into a “Y” position. Bring your arms back down to your sides and lift them out to the sides again for the final “T” position. Think about pinching your shoulder blades back and together. Do not complete if there is any discomfort.

Elbow clicks & overhead press

Start in a standing position with feet hip width apart, a strong core and shoulders in a neutral position. Bring your arms up into a goal post position formed in 90-degree angles upward. Maintaining this goal post position, bring your elbows forward, click together and return to start position. From there, press your hands overhead and then return to start position.

Corner pec stretch

Find a corner of two walls or a closed door and a wall. With a similar goal post position as the above exercise, stagger your feet and put one arm on each wall. Bring your shoulder blades back and together as you lean your chest in toward the corner of the two walls. This will stretch our your pecs and the front of your shoulders improving shoulder mobility and forward turned shoulder posture.

It’s always best to consult your health care provider before beginning new exercise programs.

PhysioMax Wellness is a Physiotherapy clinic located in Burlington, Ontario. PhysioMax Wellness offers; physiotherapy, chiropractic care, massage therapy and more. We use manual therapies as well as various modalities to improve the rate of healing from injuries. Our goal is to work with you and for you to create personalized plans to recover from injuries and help your reach your health goals for conditions you may have.

Julia de Reijke RKin, CSEP-CPT, BASc Kinesiology (Hons), DipFTHP