When you hurt your shoulder, you might not notice the pain right away. However, when you do begin to notice the pain in your shoulder joint, you’ll need to take serious steps to treat your injury. The most dangerous injuries are the ones we don’t take seriously enough. That’s why it’s so essential to treat a rotator cuff tear as the serious injury that it is. Treating shoulder injuries involve a lot of slow, steady work over time, and doing the right exercises can help speed up the recovery process over time. Whether you decide to undergo the best stem cell therapy richmond has to offer or learn some exercises to practice on your own time, here are a few things to keep in mind when undergoing rehab for your rotator cuff tear.
Exercise Will Help Reduce Swelling
When you injure your shoulder, you’ll have to go through a period of total inactivity in order to let the muscle heal. This could last up to a few weeks depending on how badly you’ve torn your rotator cuff. Once you’ve healed, you might imagine that you can get right back to life as usual. However, because your rotator cuff is connected to such a large, intricate muscle group, recovery is going to be a bit more complicated. You’ll need to gradually get back into the habit of moving your shoulder normally in order to reach your full range of motion. If you start out with daily low-impact exercises like doorway stretches and lying down side rotation, you’ll be able to gradually get your shoulder back to normal without the risk of swelling and stiffening.
You’ll Be Able to Prevent More Serious Damage
Tearing your rotator cuff is serious business. It’s extremely painful, and if gone untreated, it can end up affecting your surrounding muscles in a major way. After shoulder surgery, your doctor will suggest that you start doing daily exercises that will actually help your shoulder heal rather than keep it immobile. When you don’t do the proper rehab exercises after surgery, you could be opening yourself up to the risk of “frozen shoulder,” a permanent stiffness that makes it hard to do everyday activities without going through a lot of pain.
You’ll Have a Better Range of Motion
After recovery, it will take you awhile to even more your shoulder without dealing with a lot of swelling and pain. However, with the help of simple rehabilitation exercises like supported shoulder rotation and shoulder extension, you’ll soon be able to get back to your full range of motion without pain. Doing these exercises by degrees will also help you pay attention to your body and to see how it’s healing. Once your shoulder stops swelling, you’ll be able to add more complicated exercises into your routine. If anything hurts too much, it’s a sign that you’re not ready. However, once you’re able to do a few consistent shoulder exercises each day with the assistance of your physical therapist, you’ll be well on your way to a full recovery.
