| Are you suffering from bursitis in the shoulder? This | | | | seconds and then slowly bring your shoulders back |
| article is all about various stretches and shoulder | | | | down. Repeat this five times. |
| bursitis exercises designed to help you recover as fast | | | | Exercise #2: Shoulder Shrugs - Back |
| as possible. | | | | Stand with your arms hanging loosely at your side. |
| Shoulder bursitis is is a painful condition affecting the | | | | Slowly pull your shoulders back until the stretch |
| shoulder. Any medical term ending in "-itis" means an | | | | develops, hold for a few seconds, then slowly return to |
| inflammation. In this case, bursitis refers to an | | | | your starting position. Repeat this five times. A variation |
| inflammation of the bursae in the shoulder. Bursae are | | | | on this exercise is to pull your shoulders back and then |
| small fluid filled sacs that act as padding between | | | | pull your shoulder blades down. |
| muscles, tendons, and bones. In the shoulder, it is quite | | | | Exercise #3: Pendulum Stretch |
| common for the bursae to become inflamed and | | | | For this exercise, it helps to have a small weight handy. |
| irritated due to overuse and repeated stress. | | | | A can of soup from the kitchen works perfectly. Bend |
| Shoulder bursitis exercises are designed to stretch and | | | | over and rest your weight on a table with your good |
| strengthen the tendons in the shoulder, helping to | | | | arm. Let your affected arm hang freely, holding the |
| rebuild flexibility and range of motion. They are an | | | | small weight. The trick to this exercise is to avoid using |
| important part of any shoulder rehabilitation program. | | | | your shoulder muscles to swing your arm. Instead, rock |
| However, the first step is to make sure you know | | | | your whole body side to side to get your arm swinging. |
| what is going on with your shoulder. If you are | | | | Let your arm swing side to side several times. Then |
| experiencing shoulder pain, make sure you see your | | | | change your movements so that it swings forward |
| doctor. Your doctor is the only one who can tell you | | | | and backward. The pendulum stretch makes a great |
| for sure what the problem is and what is the best | | | | addition to your shoulder bursitis exercises because it |
| course of therapy. | | | | stretches out the shoulder joint and builds range of |
| Shoulder bursitis therapy usually begins with treating | | | | motion in all directions. |
| the pain and reducing any inflammation. | | | | Those are three great examples of shoulder bursitis |
| Anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin or Advil will | | | | exercises. As you can see, they are fairly simple and |
| help relieve the pain. Rest and ice will help to further | | | | easy to do on your own. There are many others that |
| reduce the swelling. Later on, some people also like to | | | | you can learn. They each have a specific function and |
| use a combination of hot and cold therapy. | | | | usually target a specific area of the shoulder. They all |
| Once the pain from the injury is under control and it is | | | | act to either build flexibility and range of motion, or they |
| starting to heal, it is time to add in appropriate stretches | | | | focus on building strength to prevent future injuries. |
| and shoulder exercises. There are a number of | | | | You can work with a physical therapist over several |
| exercises that you can do. It is important that you not | | | | weeks to learn the exercises that are right for you. |
| only select the right ones, but that you also learn to do | | | | Your PT will help you learn proper form and technique. |
| them correctly and in the right order. Also, these | | | | However, many people find that physical therapy is |
| exercises should never cause any pain. If it hurts, stop! | | | | expensive and time consuming. They also find that it is |
| Try something else. | | | | difficult to work regular clinic visits into their schedule. |
| Here are some easy examples of shoulder bursitis | | | | Therefore, the next best thing is to learn how to do |
| exercises: | | | | these exercises on their own. For this reason, there a |
| Exercise #1: Shoulder Shrugs - Up and Down | | | | number of excellent self-therapy guides on the market. |
| Stand with your arms hanging loosely at your side. | | | | Designed by physical therapists, they help you design a |
| Slowly shrug your shoulders up until you can feel the | | | | rehabilitation regimen that you can do on your own, in |
| stretch start to develop. Hold this position for several | | | | the comfort of your own home. |