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Painful Shoulder? You Might Need to Stretch It Out

Published Sept. 7, 2016

A woman stretching her arm.

A common myth is that shoulder problems occur from overuse. Turns out, the shoulder thrives with use. 

The majority of shoulder pain is triggered by capsulitis, which is an inflammation of the joint capsule that causes feelings of stiffness and pain in the shoulder joint. 

Shoulder pain that is not caused by a dislocation or arthritis begins as a tight shoulder. When the shoulder hurts, it is common for people to stop using it in a normal manner out of concern of causing more damage. However, once a person stops using his shoulder in a normal manner, it tightens up because it is the everyday use of joints that keeps them loose. 

“The solution is stretching,” says Dr. Edward Weldon, an orthopedic surgeon at Straub Medical Center.

“When you start to feel pain in your shoulder, make sure you regain your flexibility by gently stretching throughout the day," Weldon says. "This concept is important it has to be done gently five times a day, throughout the day.” 

A stiff shoulder is a painful shoulder, and stretching allows for motion and relieves stiffness. The more the shoulder is in use, the better off it will feel. 

For a stiff shoulder, Weldon recommends this downloadable stretching routine, with the following:

  • Complete the stiff shoulder stretches five times a day, doing five repetitions of each stretch.
  • Hold the stretch for at least 30 seconds.
  • Repeat every two to three hours.

For more stretching suggestions, watch the videos below, or visit our YouTube channel.

View transcript
time out for health brought to you by
strom hi
i'm dr edward weldon shoulder and elbow
surgeon at straub
i'm here with barry now barry's having
shoulder pain on his left side and i was
just going through a very important
stretch with him the internal rotation
stretch we were using a towel to
demonstrate this
and what it does is it lifts the arm up
the back causing the shoulder to
internally rotate stretching the capsule
he grips the towel with his left hand
and extends with his right lifting the
arm up causing the stretch on his left
shoulder you can relax
this is a very important stretch and it
can be done with a towel or it can be
done with a golf club
or a stick
or any door handle or doorknob you come
across but remember this stretch has to
be done
held for 30 seconds
and done five times a day

Dr. Edward Weldon, Shoulder and Elbow Surgeon at Straub Medical Center, assists Barry with an internal rotation stretch that can help alleviate shoulder pain.

View transcript
timeout for health brought to you by
strob I'm Dr Edward welen shoulder and
elbow surgeon at strob and I'm here with
Marcus Marcus is a senior stand out at
Pearl City High on the varsity golf team
we were just going over some of the
finer points of his swing as it relates
to his shoulder now it turns out a lot
of people come to see me with the
complaint of shoulder problems while
they golf now the good news is the vast
majority of these people have the same
problem it is a contracture of the
shoulder called
capsulitis and the good news about that
is that this condition does not need
surgery this condition needs stretching
a simple stretching program and when
these patients begin stretching their
shoulder what they find is yes their
pain decreases but their range of motion
increases and as these patients improve
their shoulder range of motion their
accuracy improves their distance
improves and their golf score lowers

Dr. Edward Weldon, Shoulder and Elbow Surgeon at Straub Medical Center, assists Marcus, a member of Pearl City High School's varsity golf team, with a simple stretching program that can help alleviate capsulitis in the shoulder.

Dr. Edward Weldon, Shoulder and Elbow Surgeon at Straub Medical Center, assists Jackie with a stretching routine that can alleviate capsulitis in throwing athletes.

Remember: If stretching causes pain that lasts longer than 15 minutes, stretch more gently to avoid injury. 

“These particular stretches are not the only stretches you can do, but this is the solution that works in my practice when done wisely," Weldon says. "Getting people to do this stretching routine is hard, but we have a great group of physical therapists at the Straub Bone & Joint Center who understand this cycle and understand how to get people to stretch."

Straub’s multi-disciplinary bone and joint team provides expert care that spans surgical and non-surgical treatments and rehabilitation services. Find out more by clicking here.

To learn more about the full range of bone and joint services offered by Hawaiʻi Pacific Health's Bone & Joint Centers, click here.

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