As climbers, we put a lot of strain on our shoulders and as a result are often plagued by shoulder injuries.  However, while not all shoulder injuries are completely preventable, with the proper stretching and strengthening exercises, we can greatly reduce the chance of shoulder injuries by preserving range of motion and strengthening the supportive muscles of the rotator cuff.

To help you prevent shoulder injuries or rehab existing shoulder tweaks, here’s an article by Cristina Lizarazo of Conquer the Crux that explains the anatomy of the shoulder and then outlines a series of stretches and exercises designed to increase shoulder mobility as well as strengthen your rotator cuff muscles to provide more shoulder stability.

“Improving the strength and flexibility of your rotator cuff and shoulder muscles can help mitigate injuries, as well as help you heal from existing injuries. Focusing on some prehab/rehab shoulder work builds the strength required for your muscles to hold the head of the humerus in place, allowing it to stay properly aligned as you climb.”

“The key when strengthening the muscles of the rotator cuff is to understand that these 4 muscles are by no means powerhouse muscles. They require light resistance in order to be properly stimulated, otherwise the more dominant muscles of the shoulder will take over.” -Cristina Lizarazo

Rotator Cuff and Shoulder Anatomy:

Beyond simply describing the anatomy of the shoulder joint, Lizarazo outlines the four major muscles of the rotator cuff and describes how each of them works to provide shoulder stability.  These four main muscles are:

1. Supraspinatus
2. Infraspinatus
3. Teres Minor
4. Subscapularis

Knowing where each of these muscles are and how they contribute to the stability of the shoulder is extremely helpful in ensuring you aren’t neglecting any movement patterns in your injury prevention work.

Rotator Cuff Stretches and Exercises:

After the quick course in shoulder anatomy, Lizarazo takes you through a fairly comprehensive set of shoulder stretches and strengthening exercises.  The stretches are designed to restore/maintain range of motion and the strengthening exercises target the small rotator cuff muscles to help them provide more stability to the joint.  Working on range of motion as well as strength and stability will go a long way towards helping your shoulders stand up to the demands placed on them by climbing.

The stretches described are:

• Classic pendulum exercise (warm up)
• Supine range of motion exercise (with yoga bloc)
• Garudasana arms (Eagle Arms)
• Cross body stretch
• Karate chop stretch
• Gomukhasana arms (Cow face arms)

The strengthening exercises outlined are:

• Protractions and etractions
• Hitchhikers
• Internal rotations
• External rotations
• Scapular plane arm raises
• Isometric wall stretches

All of the stretches and exercises are described in greater detail and include pictures that illustrate proper form.  Additionally, Lizarazo describes what rotator cuff muscle is being targeted by each stretch/exercises to further help you understand exactly what you are targeting in the shoulder.

Do yourself a favor and click through below to read more about how to preform this important injury prevention work.  While performing all these stretches and exercises may seem time consuming, it is nothing compared to the time you will spend recovering from a serious shoulder injury or surgery.

Injury Prevention Resources:

If you are interested in learning more about injury prevention beyond the shoulder, check out our Injury Prevention Guide by Dr. Jared Vagy.  This guide is full of information and exercises that will help keep you climbing injury free.

Full Article: Effective Rotator Cuff Exercises

(photo courtesy of conquerthecrux.com)

Other Articles You Might Like:

• Shoulder Warm Up with Ann Raber
• Ask Kris 004 :: Shoulder Care for Climbers
• TBP 056 :: Our Shoulder Surgeon (Dr. Tom Hackett) on Best Practices for Surgery and Alternative Treatments
• Rest Day Shoulder Workout