The enormous mobility of the shoulder makes this joint often a source of pain. However, some tips and exercises help compensate for muscle overload and emotional tension.

How is the mind! When preparing this article, we remember a toy that has already gone down in history. The Madelmans, those articulated dolls that had their weak point in the shoulder. We remember the lost arms with the broken plastic joint.
It was logical, they broke wherever we used them the most… The arms actively participated in all the adventures we imagined! And it is that the interest on the part of the manufacturer to provide them with maximum mobility turned against them and made them especially fragile at that point.
This is our shoulder joint: very rich in movements and possibilities, capable of carrying, lifting and pushing.
THE SHOULDERS, ONE OF OUR WEAK POINTS
We swim thanks to the joints of the shoulders, greet and comb our hair for them. They give us so much that, if we do not take care of them, they complain, hurt us and warn us to start taking care of them.
But when we refer to the shoulder, we are not talking only about the joint, already complex enough. There are the muscles, tense, varied and powerful: the trapezius, the supraspinatus, the dorsals, the infraspinatus…
We cannot forget the tendons, to transmit that muscle strength to the bones and generate movement. It is only necessary to remember here its importance and that, in the event of any discomfort, the response must be rapid.
Finally, and so that the shoulder does not get out of place, does not sub luxe, the ligaments are well attentive, prepared to give just the right space to the joint, giving it capacity for action and at the same time support.
Being aware of this complexity can help you understand the demands on your shoulder, the meaning of your discomfort, and why it’s so important to care for them. Adopting good postures and moving them daily to keep them flexible and relaxed with a series of exercises helps us prevent and improve possible discomfort and injuries.
EXERCISES TO RELAX THE SHOULDERS
Below you will find an exercise session that you can easily perform at home to relieve your shoulders. Below we offer you more information on how to prevent discomfort, how to act on pain and delve into its causes.
1. WARM-UP: MOBILIZES THE SHOULDERS
- Resting a hand on a chair or a surface halfway up the body, flex the body from the waist until the trunk is parallel to the ground. Drop the arm that is free like a pendulum and swing it by drawing circles, first small and then wider and wider.
- Hold the movement for half a minute and then repeat the exercise with your other arm.
2. WARM-UP: WITH RAISED ELBOWS
To warm up, in addition to the previous exercise you can flex your elbows, raise them laterally to the height of the shoulders and draw circles with them (start with small circles and increase the diameter).
3. STRETCH AND RELAX WITH A TOWEL
- Place a towel over your left shoulder, letting one end hang down your back. Lengthen the spine and extend the arms laterally.
- Raise the left arm and lower the right: the movement should be initiated within the scapulohumeral joints, with the hands following rather than guiding the movement. Bend your elbows, lower your left hand behind your head and raise your right hand down your spine.
- Stretch out both hands and grab the towel from each end.
- Breathe while your shoulders relax. Repeat 5 times with each shoulder.
4. ELBOW UP AND ELBOW BACK
- Standing place your left hand on your right shoulder. With your right hand, take the opposite elbow and lift it gently until you feel the limit of movement.
- Stay like this for a few seconds and return to the starting position. Repeat 5 or 6 times and change shoulders.
- With your left hand take the opposite elbow. Raise your right arm to the height of your ear and push your elbow towards the back of your neck without causing a rebound, simply accompanying your breathing. Notice how the triceps is stretched. Repeat 5 times with each arm.
5. HANDS CLASPED BACK
- Interlace your fingers behind your back and raise your arms trying to keep them straight. Open your pectoral and keep your shoulders away from your ears.
- You can bend your trunk and knees a little, relaxing your neck while you breathe, as if you were stretching.
6. HANDS ON THE BACK OF THE NECK
- Resting your back on a wall, interlace your fingers behind the back of your neck.
- Bring your elbows back until you touch the wall or as far as movement allows without straining. Repeat the stretch 10 times.
7. STRENGTHEN YOUR SHOULDERS WITH A STICK
- Take the two ends of a stick (a broom can do) to a width greater than that of the shoulders. When inhaling, symmetrically raise both arms until trying to bring the stick behind the head. Try to keep your shoulders away from your ears so that they do not contract and open your chest by bringing your sternum towards the sky.
- As you exhale, lower your arms. Repeat this exercise 10 times.
8. UP AND DOWN
- Lie on a mat on the floor and lie on your side on your right side with your knees in semi-flexion. Bring your right arm under your head, as a pillow, and keep your left elbow close to your ribs marking a 90-degree angle.
- Take with your left hand a small weight or a bottle of water and raise and lower it.
- Repeat the exercise 10 consecutive times and then do it with the opposite arm. In this way the rotator muscles of the shoulder are toned.
9. CIRCLES IN THE AIR
- Standing, with your leg’s hips apart and your back erect, raise your arms at a right angle to your body. With the help of weights or two full water bottles, draw small circles in the air.
- Move like this for 15 seconds, without displacing the pelvis so that the lumbar ones do not sink, and then rest.
10. THUMBS DOWN
- Sit in a chair or on the floor with your legs crossed comfortably and your back well erect, hold a small weight or bottle of water in each hand and turn them until your thumbs point to the ground.
- With your elbows slightly bent, bring your arms forward and gently raise them to shoulder height. Try, however, not to go further to avoid possible muscle contractures.
- Repeat the exercise 10 times and gradually increase the number of repetitions until you reach 20.
11. TO FINISH
- Standing and with a slight bending of the trunk forward, drop your arms and hands relaxed. Move your shoulders back and forth as if shaking them, noticing how it moves to the last joint of your hands.
- In this way, the tension that may have accumulated when practicing this exercise routine is decongested. The exercise can be prolonged for about 15 seconds.
SHOULDER PAIN: MOST FREQUENT CAUSES
Shoulder muscle pain is one of the reasons why a massage is most requested. We want to be touched, to be squeezed hard. Who hasn’t had that feeling of pain, burden, or discomfort in their shoulders at some point? Among the patients who come to the consultation some comment that they notice cervical pain, others that they weigh their shoulders …
Some arrive with a very sharp pain; they see the stars with every movement they make. The shoulder muscles have to be working continuously and, because they are postural muscles: they support the arm attracted by the force of gravity, they support the 7 kilos of the head in an upright position so that it does not go forward.
We have, therefore, a musculature with constant tone. To that is sometimes added a continuous physical exercise, as happens to a hairdresser who keeps her arms up much of the day. Then contractures may appear. The healthy muscle shortens to generate movement and when this ceases it relaxes.
If these fibers that form the muscle shrink permanently and involuntarily, a muscle contracture occurs. We could all find many contractures in our body. A very visible one occurs in the trapezoids, which makes one shoulder higher than the other. If you look in the mirror you will be surprised.
This shortening of one side, if it does not hurt, is often not given importance, but it is indicating an imbalance that the body will compensate in another area, such as the hip or along the spine.
CONTRACTURES, TRIGGER POINTS AND MUSCLE FIBROSIS
It is important to differentiate these three stages of muscle fiber injury: contractures, trigger points and muscle fibrosis.
Contracture, that is, the muscle shortening involuntarily, often passes. There are many causes: work or emotional tension, repeated exercise (especially in the professional field), poor posture or carrying a very heavy bag or a backpack hanging from one arm.
As compensation, rest or stress relief may be sufficient. If not, a massage or applying heat to the area can help make the discomfort go away.
When the pain is already clear to the pressure, is repeated in time and can be detected as a tense band, we are facing a trigger point. These points are repeated in all of us and produce a very similar pattern of pain.
There are anatomy atlases that translate pain and indicate which trigger point is active. That means that a trigger point can be discovered by the symptoms given by the patient. Those symptoms sometimes occur far from where the point is. To remove them requires the hands of a professional: a physiotherapist, an osteopath or an acupuncturist.
Finally, if a contracture is left to become chronic, muscle fibers can transform into fibrous tissue. They lose the characteristic elasticity of muscles. Often this process is irreversible. Painful “lumps” can be treated to lessen discomfort, but they will no longer go away. Hay to take care of the back, it should not be normal to feel it heavy. The healthy thing is not to perceive it.
PREVENT PAIN AND ATTENUATE DISCOMFORT
The best thing for muscle discomfort is to prevent, not abandon so much that muscle tissue is transformed into fiber. Within healthy habits, postural habits are very important. Special importance must be given to those related to the profession.
You have to sit in front of the computer taking into account the basic ergonomic advice (distance from the screen, position of the feet, etc.). In other jobs, you have to monitor the weight that is loaded. Finally, it is worth paying attention to work and emotional tensions. As they are sometimes not controllable in the short term, it may be time to get a massage.
If shoulder pain appears repeatedly or you do not want to suffer, a good and cheap solution is to adopt an exercise routine like the one proposed in this article.
After an exhausting workday, once at home, you can apply a hot water bottle, an electric mat or cushions that are heated in the microwave (and sold in pharmacies) to the annoying area. With the heat comes more blood, the muscles relax and recovery is faster.
If this and restful sleep are not enough, it is advisable to perform basic exercises and stretching. Depending on the situation, it is also convenient to receive a decontracting massage. From that moment we must take responsibility for the body and muscles.
It is about reviewing what habits are harmful (postural errors, lack of rest, excessive tension …) and studying what can be done to lead a healthier life (maintained physical exercise, stretching routines at work …). If, in spite of everything, the pain persists, you can resort to a professional of manual therapies.