A guide to stretching your shoulders

A lot of daily tension is centred on our shoulders, and if you spend any time working on a computer or in a stressful environment, you’ll probably know exactly what it feels like to suffer from stiff or sore shoulders.

Yet when it comes to needing to stretch your shoulders, there are three main causes:

• Everyday tension
• Following physical effort
• Post-surgery

In everyday life, your shoulders tend to stiffen if you don’t take the time to loosen them up, and this could lead to shoulder pain or even chronic back pain. It’s easy to take a load off though, and a simple stretching routine can make all the difference.

Firstly, stand with both feet apart, and let your arms hang down at your side. Raise your arms, but keep the elbows straight and the palms facing down. Hold this position for a count of 10, and then move your outstretched arms above your head, and turn your hands until the palms are touching. Let your left arm bend at the elbow so that the hand drops down below the shoulder blades and place the right hand on the upright left elbow. Exert gentle pressure and hold the position for a count of 10. Change position and complete the action with the right arm, and repeat the process whenever you begin to feel tense around the shoulder region.

Stretching to warm up for and cool down after exercise is essential to prevent both muscle injury during the course of the sporting activity, and also to minimise any possible shoulder stiffness after the event. Gentle stretching before sport should be conducted to ensure that your entire body, and not just the shoulders, is ready for the physical effort, and when you’ve concluded your activities, wait for a moment until your heart rate and breathing lowers to a comfortable level and then begin the stretching routine. For post-sport shoulder stretches, the hand-down-the-spine stretch outlined above is effective.

Following surgery either on or around the shoulder region, a thorough stretching program is essential. As muscles are prone to weakening before any sort of rehabilitation, it’s necessary to adopt a stretching routine to strengthen and stretch the joint as soon as possible. Refer to a healthcare professional for any recommended post-operational stretches, as you don’t want to do more damage than good. Aim to have the joint in full working order as soon as possible by making a commitment to a healthy and beneficial stretching routine, for in the long-run any delays might cause further problems, trigger conditions like frozen shoulder syndrome, or be the cause of chronic pain in later life.