Physio · Shoulder Impingement
Shoulder Impingement
Sound familiar?
Reaching overhead - lifting a kid onto your shoulders, putting a bag in the overhead bin, painting a ceiling - pinches at the top or front of the shoulder. Rounded desk posture narrows the space the rotator cuff moves through, and the tendons get irritated.
What helps
Calm it down first with gentle, pain-free motion, then fix the mechanics: strengthen the rotator cuff and the muscles that control your shoulder blade. When the blade moves well, the tendon gets its room back and overhead reaching stops hurting.
The exercises
Physio
Wall Angel
A slow snow-angel motion against a wall that opens the chest, mobilizes the shoulders, and strengthens the postural muscles between the shoulder blades.
Physio
Pendulum Swing
Letting a relaxed arm dangle and swing in small circles uses gravity to gently mobilize an irritated shoulder without any muscular effort - the classic first move for a cranky shoulder.
Physio
Band External Rotation
The bread-and-butter rotator cuff strengthener: rotating the forearm outward against a light band builds the small muscles that keep the shoulder joint centered and pain-free overhead.
Physio
Scapular Push-Up
A push-up-position drill with straight arms where only the shoulder blades move - it trains the serratus and mid-back muscles that give the rotator cuff a stable platform.
Not medical advice
These exercises are general education for common aches, not a diagnosis. Start gently, stop anything that causes sharp pain, and see a doctor or physiotherapist if pain is severe, worsening, or hangs around for more than a couple of weeks.