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Don’t Stop the Rotation

3 Ways to Prevent Rotator Cuff Injury

Rotator cuff injuries are at best annoying and, at worst, debilitating. They keep us from the activities we love and from the tasks we need to get done. Have you ever tried hanging Christmas lights or decorating a Christmas tree with a rotator cuff injury? We need our shoulders to do many things, and these are some of the best ways to keep them in commission.

Minimize Repetitive Motions

Specifically, you’ll want to limit any repetitive reaching motions. Some examples of these include pushups, pitching a baseball, house painting, or even auto construction. Without proper strength training for the muscles attached to your rotator cuff, these motions will wear on your shoulder joint and may eventually lead to a tear in your rotator cuff. So, try to keep these movements to a minimum if possible.

Strengthen Your Legs

This tip is really for anyone with knee problems, weak quads, or other conditions that limit strength and movement in the legs. Many times, people who deal with these conditions use their arms to push themselves out of chairs to make up for weakness in their legs. However, this puts unnecessary strain on their rotator cuffs. Building up the leg muscles can lead to relying less on the arms and reducing the chance of injuring the rotator cuffs.

Work Those Shoulder Muscles

Of course, this one almost goes without saying. Tendons in the rotator cuff move within a tight space. Working out some of the muscles attached to those tendons can actually widen that space and make the tendons more resistant to tears and other injuries. Many exercises that strengthen the scapular muscles are great for building up a resistance to rotator cuff injuries.

If you’ve recently developed a rotator cuff injury, In Motion O.C. can help you come back stronger than ever before to put up those lights and decorate that tree. Find out how at InMotionOC.com, or call us at (949) 861-8600.

In Motion O.C.