There are a number of very effective rotator cuff exercises that will help strengthen your rotator cuff but does that mean everybody should do them?
Not necessarily…
Before you begin a program of exercise you need to determine exactly what you’re trying to achieve. The rotator cuff is a group of four small muscles that work to stabilize the shoulder joint and some will benefit far more than others from doing specific rotator cuff exercises.
Given that the rotator cuff works to stabilize the shoulder joint it stands to reason that the muscles of the rotator cuff will come into play whenever the larger muscles that work across the shoulder joint are exercised. So if you have no existing rotator cuff weakness or injury it may not be worth the time and effort to target the rotator cuff muscles with specific rotator cuff exercises.
However, if you are regularly involved in activities (sporting or otherwise) that repeatedly put an abnormal amount of stress on the shoulder joint and the muscles of the rotator cuff then it would definitely be worth your while to do some specific rotator cuff exercises. Doing this will ensure your shoulder joint stays strong and decrease the likelihood of incurring an injury. An example of a sport which places increased strain on the shoulder joint would be any sport that involves a lot of throwing movements such as baseball, for instance. Remember, prevention is better than cure – especially when it comes to rotator cuff injury.
If you decide to begin a rotator cuff exercise program as a preventative measure then the exercise program will be different from a program designed for rehabilitation of an existing injury. If your shoulder joint is already healthy then you can benefit from adding just one rotator cuff exercise to your standard workout. Bear in mind that since the muscles that make up the rotator cuff are relatively small you should start very easily with light weights and not overdo it so as to avoid injury.
If you already suffer an existing injury to your rotator cuff that is not so major as to require surgery then you should definitely be doing some specific rotator cuff exercises to speed recovery and help to strengthen the injured joint.
As with any exercise program you should see your physician before you begin and get the okay to go ahead and exercise first. Rotator cuff injuries can be very persistent and easily aggravated if you do the wrong kind of exercise or too much. Once you’ve got your doctor’s okay to go ahead then it’s very important that you find a program that has been put together the right way with the correct rotator cuff exercises in the correct combination. The program I recommend is featured in our sidebar.
