Top 3 Exercises for Shoulder Pain (Rotator Cuff Irritation)

Updated November 5, 2024

In today’s post, we’re going to dive into some simple exercises for relieving shoulder pain and rotator cuff irritation.

I’m going to go over my 3 favorite exercises for shoulder pain, which you can check out in the video below.

Before watching, it’s important to consider that the rotator cuff is not the cause of all shoulder pain…

…but it is the most common cause of shoulder pain that we help our clients with here at the clinic.

And the rotator cuff nearly always plays a role in the multitude of causes of shoulder pain. It’s pretty important!

One more piece of advice before you watch: if you think there’s something seriously wrong with your shoulder, it’s always prudent to let a physical therapist or physician examine your shoulder before you try to treat it.

If this sounds like you, one of our physical therapists would be happy to do a quick evaluation of your shoulder absolutely for free.

Just call us at (509) 892-5442, and we’ll set you up with a free, 30-minute “Discovery Visit”, where one of our PTs will tell you the underlying ROOT CAUSE of your shoulder pain, as well as what we think are your best immediate options for lasting pain relief!

Okay, here’s the video. Enjoy!

-Luke Gordon, DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy/Owner of Gordon Physical Therapy)

Since making this video about rotator cuff strengthening, I’ve had a lot of questions about “rotator cuff tendinosis”, specifically related to the supraspinatus muscle. 

“Supraspinatus tendinosis” is a very common findings on shoulder MRI reports, and its probably the most common cause of people with shoulder pain (if they’ve had MRI imaging). 

So, if you’ve heard this term before, and you’re wondering what it means, feel free to check out the second video (below). I hope it helps!