Rotator cuff stretches are important exercises to prevent swimmer’s shoulder, which is a rotator cuff injury caused by incorrect swimming technique and overtraining.
Rotator cuff stretches help prevent swimmer’s shoulder
The rotator cuff muscles and tendons stabilize the shoulder joint and allow the arm to rotate internally, to rotate externally and to abduct.
When you swim a lot, the internal shoulder rotators and chest muscles grow stronger and shorter while the external shoulder rotators and scapular stabilizers don’t grow as strong and have a tendency to stretch over time. Muscular imbalances result that can lead to rotator cuff problems.
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Shoulder stretching exercises allow the internal shoulder rotators and chest muscles to recover their length and contribute to the shoulder’s health. Other important aspects of swimmer’s shoulder prevention are correct swimming technique and rotator cuff strengthening exercises.
Rotator Cuff Stretches – Exercise #1
- Stand upright.
- Take a towel or a belt, hold it with both hands a little
bit more than shoulder width apart. Your arms are extended.
- Slowly lift the arms in front of you, then
further above your head and to the back, until you feel a stretch in
your chest.
- Hold that position for 30 seconds, then release.
Rotator Cuff Stretches – Exercise #2
- Stand upright, with arms hanging relaxed to the sides.
- Arms still extended, bring them behind you, palms facing
each other, then clasp the hands together.
- Now raise your extended arms behind you until you feel a
stretch in the chest.
- Hold the position for 30 seconds.
Rotator Cuff Stretches – Exercise #3
- Stand next to a wall
- Lift your arm to the side, bend your elbow until your upper arm is horizontal and your lower arm points straight to the ceiling.
- Turn your palm towards the wall and rest your arm against
it while keeping the 90° angle
- While keeping the arm against the wall, rotate the
opposite hip away from the wall until you feel a stretch in the front
of your shoulder and chest
- Hold the position for 30 seconds
Rotator Cuff Stretches – Exercise #4
- Stand upright.
- Bring your extended arms above your head, on hand on top
of the other, like in a streamlined swimming position.
- While keeping the arms above your head, bend to the left
until you feel a stretch on the side of your upper body.
- Hold the position for 30 seconds, then do the same on the
other side.
Rotator Cuff Stretches – Exercise #5
- Extend the first arm, lift it in front of you until it’s
horizontal, then rotate it towards the other arms shoulder.
- Place the second hand on the first arm’s elbow, and start
to pull back the elbow until you feel a stretch at the side of the
shoulder.
- Hold the position for 30 seconds.
Rotator Cuff Stretches – Exercise #6
- Place the back of one hand against the lower back. The
elbow sticks out at the side.
- Grab the forearm or elbow of the first arm with the
opposite hand.
- Pull the elbow gently to the front while keeping the first
hand on the lower back.
- Alternatively,
instead of grabbing the first arm with the second, you can also lean
the elbow of the first arm against a wall, then rotate the opposite hip
away from the wall.
Rotator Cuff Stretches – Exercise #6 variation
Stretching Tips
- Once you feel the stretch in your muscles, hold the
position for 30 seconds. When you stretch a muscle, a reflex causes
the muscle to contract. It needs at least 15 seconds before it relaxes
and stretching becomes effective.
- When you stretch, you should feel a light to medium pull
in your muscles. If it hurts, you are stretching to hard! The muscle
reflex will fire and the stretch will be ineffective or can even injure
your muscles.
-
Never bounce while stretching. Again, if you do this, the
muscle reflex will kick in and you risk to generate small muscle tears.
