Orthopedics Shoulder & Elbow Treatment & Surgery Print Rotator Cuff Strengthening Exercises By Laura Inverarity, DO Updated November 19, 2019 DNY59 / E+ / Getty Images More in Orthopedics Shoulder & Elbow Treatment & Surgery Shoulder Conditions Elbow Conditions Sprains & Strains Fractures & Broken Bones Physical Therapy Orthopedic Surgery Osteoporosis Pediatric Orthopedics Sports Injuries Hip & Knee Hand & Wrist Leg, Foot & Ankle Assistive Devices & Orthotics Medication & Injections View All The rotator cuff consists of a group of four muscles that help lift your arm and rotate it away from your body. These muscles also move the head of the shoulder bone during elevation of your arms. These muscles act as dynamic stabilizers while you are lifting your arms up away from your body. Unfortunately, the muscles are prone to inflammation and tears during overhead activities or due to wear and tear. An important way to reduce tears or rotator cuff injury is by strengthening these muscles. The exercises below will show you how to strengthen the muscles of your rotator cuff. Be sure to check in with your doctor before starting these exercises for your rotator cuff muscles. A visit or two with your local physical therapist can also help ensure that you are doing the exercises properly and that they are safe for you. Exercise One Lie on your stomach on a table or a bedPut one arm out at shoulder level with your elbow bent to 90 degrees and your hand downKeeping your elbow bent, slowly raise your handStop when your hand is level with your shoulderLower the hand slowlyRepeat 10 timesPerform with opposite arm Exercise Two Lie on your side on a bed or the floorPlace your upper arm at your side with your elbow bent to 90 degrees, and your forearm resting against your chest, palm downRotate your shoulder out, raising your forearm until it is level with your shoulderLower the hand slowlyRepeat 10 timesPerform with opposite arm Exercise Three Stand with your arms slightly behind you with both thumbs downRaise your arms up, pretending that you are emptying a can with each handLower the arms slowlyRepeat 10 times You can make any of these exercises more challenging by holding a small dumbbell. Start light—usually, 2 or 3 pounds is enough to create adequate resistance. Another way to add resistance is to perform shoulder exercises with a resistance band. (You can get one from your local physical therapist.) The rotator cuff exercises can be done 2 or 3 times per week or as directed by your physical therapist. Be sure to stop the exercise if you feel worsening pain in your shoulder, shoulder blade, or arm. Common Problems If you have weakness in your rotator cuff muscles, you may experience various problems with your shoulders. These may include: Rotator cuff tearsShoulder tendonitisBiceps tendonitisShoulder bursitis Any and all of these problems can cause a loss of range of motion and limited function of your upper extremities. Working to keep your rotator cuff muscles strong can help you possibly avoid these problems with your shoulders. If you are looking to keep your shoulders strong, visiting with your physical therapist to learn rotator cuff strengthening exercises is a good idea. Your PT can tailor a rotator cuff exercise program to help keep your shoulders strong and mobile. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Dealing with joint pain can cause major disruptions to your day. Sign up and learn how to better take care of your body. Click below and just hit send! Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial policy to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Harvard Health Publishing. Rotator Cuff Injury. Harvard Health. Dec 2018. Heron SR, Woby SR, Thompson DP. Comparison of three types of exercise in the treatment of rotator cuff tendinopathy/shoulder impingement syndrome: A randomized controlled trial. Physiotherapy. 2017;103(2):167-173. doi:10.1016/j.physio.2016.09.001 Continue Reading