Welcome back to Foundation Physical Therapy’s
YouTube channel today we’re going to talk
about functional internal rotation.
First of all what is functional internal rotation.
Functional internal rotation of the shoulder
is this motion here.
It’s the same thing you’re going to use
to scratch your back, fasten your bra, apply
sunscreen.
Any of these movements that are considered
functional.
If you are limited in this mobility and you
still try to go through life doing these things
with faulty mechanics then you’re going
to run into shoulder problems sometime down
the line so we’re going to try to help you
prevent that.
To do that you’re going to need just a regular
little old dowel rod.
A broomstick, mop handle, a length of PVC
anything works.
What you’re going to do is you’re going
to lay on your stomach and you’re going
to pass this dowel rod behind your back like
so.
Then what you’re going to do is you’re
going to squeeze the shoulder blades together
gently and you’re going to lift this stick
up as high as you can.
Now if you can lift it up to about 90 degrees
or straight up and down like I cannot then
that’s plenty.
You don’t need to do this stretch or this
exercise.
If you are below 45 degrees and stuck around
here then you definitely should do this exercise
to prevent any kind of shoulder problems.
But all you want to do is you want to raise
up until you feel a stretch then you come
back down and repeat.
You can have a buddy check out your form and
make sure you’re doing it right.
And also see if you’re getting to that 45
degree angle.
So again it’s a great activity to improve
the functional internal rotation or mobility
of your shoulder.
So we hope you enjoy it.
