Dynamic Shoulder Exercise For Overhead Athletes
Shoulder exercise for the overhead athlete needs to dynamically challenge the rotator cuff. Each shoulder exercise shown in this post can be used as a progression from your standard shoulder rotator cuff strengthening program.
Shoulder Exercise #1
Prone Horizontal Abduction with Rotary Component
This is a great shoulder exercise for the overhead athlete. It requires the patient to use the scapular retractors to set the scapula while resisting a rotary force at the glenohumeral joint. I like to use it particularly with baseball and tennis players because of the demands of the posterior rotator cuff and forearm. It requires the shoulder girdle musculature to resist forces in multiple planes at once, which as discussed in my previous post, is a necessary requirement for sport.
Shoulder Exercise #2
Band Scaption for Rotator Cuff Recruitment
The role of the rotator cuff is to seat the humeral head downward and allow optimal room in the glenohumeral joint for the humerus to rotate without impinging on the undersurface of the acromion. This shoulder exercise forces the patient to recruit the external rotators of the shoulder prior to initiating shoulder movement. It is used as a neuromuscular re-education drill to encourage recruitment of the rotator cuff, prior to arm elevation. It is a great exercise to use with anyone experiencing primary shoulder impingement.
Shoulder Exercise #3
KB Press with Dynamic Stability
Most often when people use the kettle bell for overhead activities, they hold it with the bulbous end facing down against the forearm. This exercise requires the patient to dynamically stabilize the kettle bell in a triplanar fashion, while pressing it overhead. As the kettle bell sways in one direction, the rotator cuff muscles must quickly adjust to stabilize it. I often use this exercise later in the rehabilitation process once the patient has achieved good baseline rotator cuff strength with the arm in a non-flexed position.
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