Shoulder rehabilitation Flashcards
What are some common shoulder injuries?
- Glenohumeral dislocation
- Overuse impingement (supraspinatus)
- Overuse friction (long yea dog biceps tendonitis)
- Chronic insidious (adhesive capsulitis aka frozen shoulder)
- Instability
- AC separations
- Poor posture
- Rotator cuff strain
- Fractures
What are the objectives of treating a shoulder during the acute phase of an injury?
- Decrease pain
- Decrease swelling
- Prevent reactive muscle spasm
- Limit ROM
What can be used to decrease pain and swelling during the acute phase?
- Ice
- TENS unit
- IFC unit
- Medications
- Immobilization/support
How do you preform a pendulum exercise?
- Bend over at 90 degrees with non-injured arm stabilizing
- Allow arm to swing freely using trunk to generate circular movements
- Start small and get bigger, go in both directions
- Parameters: 15-20 times up to 50
What is the purpose of the pendulum exercise?
Increase circulation to help speed up the removal of waste products and reduce soreness
What are the objectives of treating a shoulder injury during the sub acute phase?
- Increase ROM
- Decrease muscle spasm
- Muscle re-education
- Proprioception
- Whole body maintenance
- Psychological intervention
What are some examples of range of motion exercises that can be used during the sub acute phase?
- Active assisted (T-bar, towel)
- Active (wall exercises/slides, theraball)
- Upper body exercises
- Mobilizations (GH, AC and SC joints)
What are some things that can be used/done to decrease muscle spasm?
- Heat/ice
- Massage
- Stretch
What are some ways to re-educate muscles?
- Scapulothoracic core stability
- Scaption
- Strengthen important static muscles
What is scaption?
Moving the arm in the scapular plane
What are the benefits of working in the scapular plane?
- Prevents impingement
- A functional position for rhomboid contractions
- Reduces tension on suprspinatus tendon
What muscles are important static muscles for the shoulder?
- Rhomboids
- Lower trapezius
- Serratus anterior
When should retraction exercises be done?
Early in the rehab
What is purpose of retraction exercises?
Focus on endurance in conjunction with general muscle strength
What are some examples of retraction exercises?
- Tubing
- Dumbbells
- Barbell
How should retraction exercises progress?
Hold retraction only with each rep, progress to holding for entire set, then progress to incorporating other movements