Upper Extremity Exercise: Shoulder Exercises
The following instructions are for Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) patients to improve range of motion in the shoulder.
Patient instructions:
Your therapist will tell you how long to hold each exercise, how many times you should repeat each one, and how many times you should perform the exercises each day.
Shoulder stretch
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Stand, sit or lie down. Hold your wrist with your strong hand. Raise your arm as high as possible over your head towards the sky. If you are lying down, reach for the pillow behind you.
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Shoulder swing
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Stand and lean with your strong arm a countertop or table for balance. Another option is to sit in a chair and lean over to look at your feet and dangle your arm.
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Swing your arm forward and back as far as possible 20 times. Then swing left to right 20 times.
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Swing your arm in circles 20 times.
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Climbing arm stretch
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Stand or sit in front of the wall. Climb your fingers up the wall. When you get to the highest point, count to 5 and slowly lower your arm.
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Stand or sit next to the wall. Repeat the same movement as above.
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Reviewed on January 16, 2023, by Sue Ellen Shelak, OTR/L