Top 3 Exercises for Torn Rotator Cuff 

After suffering with shoulder pain for about 2 months with no improvement even from complete rest, I have done these exercises for 2 weeks and that's it! My shoulder is almost fully recovered! It still needs to get back to full strength but I no longer have the sharp pain from slight movements like putting my hand on the steering wheel or putting my arm in my coat sleeve. I could feel the exercises opening up my shoulder and relieving what I'm sure was impingement rather than a full tear (self diagnosed). Thank you so much for the video. I'm carrying on with the home physio for longer until it's completely fixed.

I tried this and I feel it works, THANK YOU 🙏🏿

I have got a tear in my rotator cuf due to high volumes of kipping pullups at crossfit and i am in pain 24/7. I have just done 30 reps each of these exercises and can tell you that the pain has gone away by 90% , it is incredible i cant get my head round this , awsome thanx for posting things like this , its a great starting point for me so i am going to be dedicated on these 3 exercises. Thank you once again

Immediate relief. Thank you ever so much!

Thank you for the easy to understand explanations!

I have got immediate pain relief . Thank you 🙏🏻

Thanks sir, after spending money and, lots of pain ,I saw your video and got much more relief, thanks a lot sir

Thank YOU for showing these exercises! I was given these exercises many years ago for my rotator cuff by a physical therapist, and I forgot all about them. Now I'm trying to find every exercise I can......because I'm back to "square one." My arm was in a sling for 3 1/2 weeks because I had broken my wrist and my arm was immobile. I knew I was in "trouble" right from the beginning with the in-activity. I want to just remain pain free and stable.....and keep from having surgery......The fall on ice and surgery was enough to hold me over for a life time. IF anyone wants another suggestion, the ARM DANGLES and WALL and TABLE CIRCLES are excellent too. Hopefully you can find them on the internet somewhere. I started doing them as soon as I could when the post surgery batting and and ace bandage was removed. It's been 2 months and my shoulder is feeling a little better, however, I'm far from where I was before the accident. I'll begin doing these exercises right away. I haven't taken any ibuprofin for weeks, so my exercises must be working.

Thank you so much!

Thanks!

Thank you!

Going to try the angle. Thank you for posting

Madden PT -- yes, I have had manipulation and it does calm the pain down. I must note-- doing your recommended exercises has made a notable difference. In addition, modifying my workouts now has helped.

Mr Madden you are a good man for making this video!

Instant relief and I work out all the time

They are more simple to follow than the other guys. Let me try first. Thanks.

I don't think Dr. Madden is monitoring these comments anymore, so if somebody has had experience with using a shoulder stabilizing brace - I'm using it mostly at night in bed because that's when I feel the pain. I think that I might be re-injuring the area while sleeping, and the shoulder brace prevents that. If it's a tear, it's probably a smallish one. These exercises are helping too. I just found this video yesterday.

Thank you for the video. I believe I have a rotator cuff issues so I am researching it.

Thanks for the tip on the 30 degree angle.

C, Did you post the video of the person with a full thickness tear? Much appreciated,

I havent, Im from the UK and have never heard of that, I have an appointment with another doctor hopefully I will get that MRI booked!

Thanks chad, I'll certainly give this a try. It's good of you to help people in this way, God Bless you.

Thanks for theses tips!

Where is the band attached to? I can't see in the video. Thank you.

how often should we be doing these 3 exercises a week , and how do we know when the rotato cuff muscles are getting stronger apart from the pain going away and the more we do these 3 exercises , do we begin to hold the band a bit further away so it is more harder to pull it or do we just make the movements with a slack pull?

I ve been experiencing acute debilitating RC pain for the past 3 weeks and the first exercise gives instant relief!

Okay.... took some processing to figure out the difference between the second and third exercises: resistance in opposite directions in relation to your core. What's the most effective way to position ice packs to deal with pain around the rhomboids and rotator cuff? Honestly, I'm happy to be down to a level of pain where I can identify some of the main areas it's coming from.

Namaste from india, I facing supraspinatus sprain level1, which one i have to do for better result. And do i have to apply any pack cold or heat before this exercise?

Did the lady on the video had a surgery? Are these exercises only done after surgery. Can I do this without doing any further damage on my full thickness tear of my rotator cuff. I would like to do this first before considering any surgery. Thank you in advance for your reply.

Mr Madden... Where can I buy that exercise band?

Hi, I was recently diagnosed with both rotator cuff strain and subscapular strain. Which exercises would be best for me?

Iv put up with shoulder pain for years i stopped lifting because it was so sore finally got a MRI scan and yeah torn tendon I’m not sure of the details thanks man what’s the rate of success with surgery’s?

How may reps do you suggest of each exercise

Great feed-back..keep posting progress! many thx :)

Hi . After injury when will do the exercises .

no fluff! Thank you

I had an MRI and I have a 50% interior tear (they said the exterior seesm to be intact) of my Distal anterior supraspinatus...Will these exercises help?

C, I have recently discovered I have a moderate sized full thickness tear of the distal supraspinatus tendon, not significantly retracted in my left shoulder. I recently had a left complete hip replacement in May. I cannot afford nor take the time off work for surgery on my shoulder. In your opinion-- would these exercises keep me stable for the time being? I am a 42 year old male and I am a Chiropractic Physician I am a 20 year veteran competitive bodybuilder. I competed from 1996-2003.

Hi, sounds encouraging. At 60+ and v.active had rt. shoulder dislocation 3 mo.a. (my 2nd - 1st was ~ 10 yrs.a. -with no residual problems til now !) MRI suggests partial/nearly total (?) Supraspinatus tendon tear (guess most common/serious) I'd like to heal it without surgery !! So - would appreciate the link .Thx.

How many times a week are these exercises to be done? Thank you

can u pleas summarise that research - i cant get head around jargon. i.e. why is that angle best?

Hi, I'm a weightlifter and I've been told I need Rotator cuff surgery, but need to put it off for a while. In addition to these exercises, are there exercises to keep my chest, arms and shoulder muscles in shape prior to surgery? Thanks. kev

Hi, are these exercices good for adressing bursitis/impingement ?

Hey Madden...I had an accident....I was banged on ground hard n my rotator cuff has been injured...I m under physiotherapy treatment from 10 days...according to orthopaedic..the injury is not too serious...I can't rotate arm sideways...I m a sportsman...I need to get back my good old reflexes...how can I strengthen my arm ,like in 2-3 months

Thank You Dr. Madden these exercises are amazing

What is the strength of the band should I get? How to do you anchor the band to the door?

How often do you do these??

Going to try these exercises at the gym wire machine, after the Corona virus calms down

Great video! But I WISH YOUR OPENING MUSIC WASN'T SO MUCH LOUDER THAN THE TALKING! I'm constantly having to change my volume setting, and similar situations resulted in the blowing of a pair of excellent computer speakers. PLEASE, try to reasonably equalize (quantize) the volume levels of any future videos. Thanks~!

My RC has been hurting for the past week, and these exercises hurt my RC. Is my tear too severe, or are there other exercises for me to do? The pain wasn't debilitating for the first few days, but even though I tried to let it relax it still has grown worse by the day. In a couple of days I'll be seeing someone for rehab exercises to do at home, but I'm looking to perhaps educate myself on the subject before I go in.

I used to weightlift, play baseball, play frisbee, but last year I tore completely my rotator cuff.....I want no surgery, so, I am looking for some physical therapy to regain my strength....Help!

The problem with my rotator cuff is the tendon has shrunk quite a ways off the bone. My doctor said surgery would probably not help. He said he could stretch the tendon and attach it back on the bone, but the tendon would more than likely stretch back off the bone. Are these exercises good for what I'm describing?

Could I contact with you Sir ?

how often can you do these

did he say to look for that band in borders book store?

30 times what speed? does it matter? also does band strength matter? video is slow speed - is that best?

i tore my rotator cuff on my right shoulder only, should i just do these exercises on the right shoulder or both? thank you, the video was great!

Hey Madden...I had an accident....I was banged on ground hard n my rotator cuff has been injured...I m under physiotherapy treatment from 10 days...according to orthopaedic..the injury is not too serious...I can't rotate arm sideways...I m a sportsman...I need to get back my good old reflexes...how can I strengthen my arm ,like in 2-3 months?

My therapist already have to do all of those

ow soon should you start these excercises after you have injured your rotator cuff?

That 3rd exercise external rotation causes lots of pain and weakness. Should I keep doing those with light resistance?

do you need to wait until the tear has healed? I keep re-injuring my shoulder and want to get it to heal

Please reply sir I got accident 2nd of January 2020 and injured on shoulder partial tendon tear And till now I am not able to up my hand self please suggest

Considering different parts of the rotator cuff can be injured/torn, are these exercises subjective? Could doing the incorrect rotator cuff exercise further facilitate the tearing?

Should you do these exercises everyday or every other.

I can't lift my right shoulder sideways it hurts like hell ... it's been 2 weeks resting but no change ...it started 2 weeks ago when i woke up and felt ache in shoulder ....is it a rotatory cuff tear?

Hi Mr. Madden. Could you tell me where you found the case study on the Band being at 30 degree angle below parallel. Thanks, Rudy PTA

Can a rotator cuff heal if I tore all the muscles in my rotator cuff?

Hello Dr. Madden. I played badminton too much(advanced level) and started to get pain in my right shoulder recently. I had an MRI last week for my right shoulder and doctor told me that I have full thickness Rotator cuff tear of 6mm and I have to undergo shoulder anthroscopic surgery for this. Can I do these exercises with my rotator cuff tear. Will these exercises work for me. Please let me know. I do not prefer to undergo Surgery.

What if these exercises make it hurt worse? Is this normal for awhile?

The editing with the switch to the black-and-white, makes this very difficult to watch

Rotator cuff tear is curable without surgery?

i have a partially torn rotator cuff. what exercises can i do...trying to avoid surgery

I initially went into the Dr and they suspected that I had bursitis/tendonitis so they gave me a cortisone injection in my shoulder. That was 3 weeks ago. It did not improve so I went back to the Dr, just had an MRI done today to see if there is a tear. I will not have the results until next week. I do believe that if it was just bursitis/tendonitis, the injection would have probably helped but I believe I do have a tear. Will not know for sure until next week.

This appears to be exercise for strengthening rotator cuffs. What if they are all torn ( all 4 ) in each shoulder and inoperable....is this still what i want to do?....I've been to many PT programs that MADE MY CONDITION WORSE!...i don't want to aggravate the permanent injury, but i know from experience, that doing nothing just makes things get worse ( i.e. frozen shoulder). It is so frustrating and painful, not knowing what to do...what will hurt and what will help.

What if you have a massive tear in both the front and back of rotator cuff.

would a steroid injection work if I have torn rotator cuff or tendonitis or shoulder impingement even? Im not sure what I have but the doctor wants to give me a steroid injection before I have an MRI scan and everyone has been telling me not to take it until after MRI so I know what the pain is for sure.

Daily exercise?

👍👍

Good helpful video...except for the black and white screw ups

But what is the goal? Does this heal the tear?

possibly simulates the best angle to work the repair collagen in correct direction. (?) Never think that current info is all there is .....

the 3 exercise gives me pain.. is that normal? should it be a relief? plese help!

How often can you do these? Once daily? twice daily? or once in 2 days? twice a week..sorry but there are conflicting information on how often you ca do these if you have a rotator cuff tear already, hope someone knowledgeable provides correct answer.

Music is too loud and obnoxious the second two exercises cause extreme pain.

I just listened to another PT who said these were the worst exercises to do and if the PT didn’t do good research, they will tell you to do these exercises. Go figure.

Instead of bands can you use light weights

This is a good and helpful video but that shaky, black and white portion does your professional image no good. Replace that with the same high definition color with which the rest of the video is shot. The black and white part is a silly, ineffective visual gimmick.

It appears he has not answered a single viewers question. WTH?

Borders. They’re closed for good.

Teehee: "heighth". Joking aside, thanks for the video, I'll give this a try!

Chad, don't you think the patient is recruiting too many back muscles to make this an effective scapula stabilizing exercise? How much what of she's doing with her arms are due to posterior deltoids and the trapezius?

this is great but it doesnt fix a tear.....

The editing on the video is hard to watch

Hey Madden...I had an accident....I was banged on ground hard n my rotator cuff has been injured...I m under physiotherapy treatment from 10 days...according to orthopaedic..the injury is not too serious...I can't rotate arm sideways...I m a sportsman...I need to get back my good old reflexes...how can I strengthen my arm ,like in 2-3 months?

Hey Madden...I had an accident....I was banged on ground hard n my rotator cuff has been injured...I m under physiotherapy treatment from 10 days...according to orthopaedic..the injury is not too serious...I can't rotate arm sideways...I m a sportsman...I need to get back my good old reflexes...how can I strengthen my arm ,like in 2-3 months

Hey Madden...I had an accident....I was banged on ground hard n my rotator cuff has been injured...I m under physiotherapy treatment from 10 days...according to orthopaedic..the injury is not too serious...I can't rotate arm sideways...I m a sportsman...I need to get back my good old reflexes...how can I strengthen my arm ,like in 2-3 months?