Medically reviewed by Dr. Stephen Matta, DO, MBA, CAQSM
Recovering from a rotator cuff injury isn’t easy. Whether you’re dealing with soreness, a strain, or a more serious tear, a hurt shoulder makes everything more difficult, from brushing your teeth to driving a car. While rest is an important part of the process, a full recovery also requires light movement and a focus on gentle strengthening. It’s important to ensure that you’re using safe exercises with a rotator cuff injury to prevent further injury.
The right exercises can help restore mobility and reduce pain in the shoulder. Even better, many can be done without any equipment at all. That means you can do your exercises at home, on the road, at work, or wherever you may be. In this article, we’ll walk you through some of the best equipment-free movements designed to improve flexibility, build strength, and support your shoulder’s healing process.
Why Safe Exercises Are Important for Rotator Cuff Recovery
While rest is an important part of the regimen to heal any injury, it is possible to get too much rest. Frozen shoulder, also called adhesive capsulitis, is a common complication of rotator cuff injuries. When the shoulder is not exercised regularly, frozen shoulder can result, leaving you with reduced mobility, pain, and stiffness. While a frozen shoulder can be “thawed,” it will take far longer than the original injury—and can even require surgery.
Gentle, controlled movements and stretches can help to ward off frozen shoulder, maintain a good range of motion, and prevent stiffness in the joint. Strengthening exercises are also important, building up the surrounding muscles to improve the stability and long-term recovery of your rotator cuff.
Best At-Home Exercises for Rotator Cuff Injuries (No Equipment)
Below are five safe and effective exercises for rotator cuff injuries that can be performed without any equipment. These rotator cuff stretches and other exercises can be done anywhere, meaning that you already have all the tools you need to help your shoulder heal.
- Pendulum Swings
Also known as Codman Exercises, pendulum swings help to loosen up the shoulder and prevent stiffness in the joint. As a dynamic exercise, they also help to create space in the shoulder for static stretches.
You don’t need a big movement to make pendulum swings effective; even tiny circles help to keep motion in the shoulder. As your pain decreases, you can gradually increase the size of the circles.
Step-by-step instructions:
- Stand securely on both feet next to a table or chair.
- Hinge forward at the waist, resting your non-injured arm on the table or chair for support.
- Let your injured arm hang down perpendicular to your body.
- Gently move your arm in small circles for 20-30 seconds. Alternate your rotations between clockwise and counterclockwise.
- If able, gradually increase the size of your circles. If the movement causes pain, return to a smaller circle size.
- Crossover Arm Stretch
Rotator cuff stretches are an important element of recovering from injuries. Shoulder stretches help to improve flexibility and prevent the joint and muscles from freezing or becoming overly weak. As you perform this stretch, make sure to keep your shoulders relaxed; you don’t want to add any unnecessary tension that could cause discomfort or further injury.
Step-by-step instructions:
- Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Relax your shoulders, then raise your injured arm to chest height, then bring it across your chest.
- Use your opposite hand to gently pull the arm closer to your body.
- Hold for 20 seconds, then release, adjusting the depth of the stretch to prevent pain.
- Repeat 3-4 times, switching arms if necessary.
- Doorway Stretch
This stretch is one of the best safe chest exercises with a rotator cuff injury. It helps improve flexibility in the shoulder without straining the rotator cuff. As the name suggests, you’ll need a doorway. It’s helpful to select a doorway that works for your size, allowing you to gently stretch the chest and shoulders without straining.
Step-by-step instructions:
- Stand in a doorway with your arms raised shoulder height and held at a 90-degree angle (sometimes called “cactus pose”).
- Rest your hands and forearms on each side of the doorframe.
- Slowly lean forward until you feel a gentle stretch in your shoulders and chest. Stop if you feel pain or discomfort in the shoulders.
- Hold for 20-30 seconds.
- Repeat 2-3 times.
- Isometric Shoulder External Rotation
Isometric exercises involve contracting particular muscles without moving them. Because there’s no lengthening of the muscles (or any particularly discernible movement), these exercises help to build strength without straining the joints—preventing further damage to the rotator cuff.
Step-by-step instructions:
- Stand beside a wall with your injured shoulder against it.
- Raise your hand to bend your elbow to 90 degrees.
- Press the back of your hand against the wall to your side, holding it in a 90 degree angle next to your body.
- Gently push against the wall without moving your arm.
- Hold your position, pressing against the wall for 5-10 seconds.
- Repeat 5-6 times.
- Scapular Retraction
The rotator cuff is a complex system of muscles and tendons in the shoulder. Injury to any one of these elements can cause pain and discomfort, which means that strengthening the whole system is essential to your recovery. A scapular retraction can help to stabilize the shoulder, building the muscles around the shoulder blade to better support the injured muscles or tendons. This not only aids in recovery, but also helps to prevent future injury.
Step-by-step instructions:
- Sit or stand upright with your arms at your sides.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together as if you are pinching a pencil between them.
- Hold for 5 seconds, then relax.
- Repeat 10-15 times.
Exercises and Movements to Avoid with Rotator Cuff Injuries
While some exercises are helpful in supporting your recovery from a rotator cuff injury, others can prevent healing or even worsen your injury. Avoiding these exercises is essential to allowing your shoulder to heal.
Rotator cuff injuries are often caused by repetitive movement—particularly movements that raise the arms or hands above the shoulders. Naturally, you’ll want to steer clear of any exercises that involve these motions. That includes overhead presses, lat pulldowns, bench dips, and upright rows, among others.
Movements that require heavy lifting—whether weights at the gym or heavy boxes at work—should also be avoided. Straining the muscles in the shoulder is likely to further aggravate the rotator cuff, preventing recovery.
Finally, even “safe” exercises with rotator cuff injury can become problematic if pushed too far. As you perform your shoulder exercises, be sure to listen to your body. If a rotator cuff stretch is causing pain, you may be going too deep. For the best results, ease into your shoulder exercises, only pushing further as your body allows.
Natural Healing Options for Rotator Cuff Injuries
Treatment for rotator cuff injuries typically depends on the severity of the concern. While surgery can be an option for severe tears, it’s not necessary in every case. In fact, it’s often possible to heal a rotator cuff injury naturally—a plan that includes, but is not limited to mindful exercises and stretches.
Advances in orthopedic medicine mean that there are many natural ways to heal a rotator cuff injury. Advanced, non-surgical therapies like platelet-rich plasma (PRP) harness your body’s own healing power to reduce inflammation and speed up healing, allowing you to regain the movement—and freedom—you may have lost to injury.
Learn more about PRP treatment in Philadelphia.
When to Seek Professional Help for Rotator Cuff Injuries
While a rotator cuff injury can often be healed at home, you don’t have to do it alone. More than inconvenient, shoulder injuries can impact your total way of life, preventing you from engaging in sports, working out, or even enjoying day-to-day life without pain.
The safe exercises for rotator cuff injuries noted above can help, but if your shoulder pain, limited mobility, or loss of function isn’t improving, or if your injury seems to be worsening, it’s time to see a doctor.
Patients with severe rotator cuff injuries often experience chronic pain, extreme weakness in the shoulder, and a persistent inability to lift the arm. Safe, effective help is available, and complete healing is possible—without surgery.
If you’re looking for expert guidance to heal a rotator cuff injury without surgery in the Philadelphia metro area, Meeting Point Health is here to help.
Meeting Point Health is a recognized leader in regenerative orthopedics. We combine deep expertise in musculoskeletal care with advanced treatments like PRP, peptide therapy, and ultrasound-guided injections to help patients heal naturally—without surgery or steroids.
Schedule a Discovery Call with our team or request more information online to learn about our holistic approach to orthopedic care.
FAQ
Below are some of the most common questions we get about exercising with a shoulder or rotator cuff injury.
How can I exercise with a rotator cuff injury?
Gentle, controlled exercise is critical when you’re dealing with a rotator cuff injury. Exercise helps to maintain your shoulder’s mobility while preventing complications like frozen shoulder. Safe exercises with rotator cuff injury include pendulum swings, crossover arm stretches, doorway stretches, isometric shoulder rotations, and scapular retractions. These are all generally considered both safe and effective for shoulder injuries.
What exercises should I avoid if I have a rotator cuff injury?
When you are healing from a rotator cuff injury, it’s important to avoid any movement that requires heavy lifting, deep stretches, overhead presses, or other exercises that repeatedly raise your arms above your head. These exercises can strain the shoulder, prolonging recovery time and, even worse, worsening your injury.
Suggested Reading: How to Heal a Torn Rotator Cuff Naturally
