Five common shoulder rehab mistakes

For fitness enthusiasts juggling career, family, and intense training, a shoulder injury can feel like hitting a brick wall. The pain isn’t just physical - it’s mental, emotional, and disruptive to your identity as someone who lives an active lifestyle and enjoys training and sport.

If you’ve tried resting, physiotherapy, or online rehab and still feel stuck, you’re not alone.

Here are five common shoulder rehab mistakes we see and what to do instead.

ONE: Belief - “Rest will fix it.”

Like so many, you think if you back off for a few weeks, it’ll sort itself out. Now, temporary rest can reduce symptoms, but it does nothing to fix the root cause of your shoulder problem.

Without targeted strength training and improving physical literacy, the same issue will likely come back the moment you start training again. This leads to the boom-bust cycle; pain flares up, you stop training, it settles, you return, it flares again, and you’re not making any progress.

In short, rest doesn’t rebuild - strength does.

TWO: Belief - “I did physio, so I should be fixed.”

You’ve seen a physio or other therapist and been cleared to go back to training, so naturally, you think you’re good to go. Yet, when you go back to full intensity training, the same shoulder issue rears its head.

Most rehab stops far too soon. You are pain-free which is great, but being discharged from the physio doesn’t mean you are prepared for the demands you want to place on your shoulders.

This creates a false confidence, leading people to return to sport or the gym with glaring deficits still in place.

This is why we talk about shoulder reconditioning; working as an integrated team to move you further away from the cliff edge and stop the recurring cycle of shoulder injuries with strength that lasts so you have the freedom to live, train and compete.

THREE: Belief - “It’s just part of getting older.”

Getting older is a natural part of life and while wear and tear can play a role as we age; most shoulder issues are movement and strength related.

Age is a definitely a consideration we factor in when designing a shoulder reconditioning plan, but this doesn’t mean you should just accept pain as a new baseline as you get older.

FOUR: Belief - “I need to avoid pain at all costs.”

Pain is a signal, not always a stop sign. It’s important to monitor your level of pain. We ask our clients to score their shoulder pain on a scale of 1-10. With 1 as no pain and 10 being high pain. If they’re hitting levels 5 or above, we ask that they stop the exercise and get in touch.

Avoiding pain completely won’t help you to build strong shoulders. Smart progressive training will.

FIVE: “Surgery will fix everything.”

Sometimes shoulder surgery is unavoidable and necessary to fix structural damage after an injury or traumatic incident. However, surgery provides you with a reset. It doesn’t replace the need for strength. It is not a get-out clause to having to do the work to stay pain-free.

Even if surgery is the right option for your circumstances, you will still have to do the post-op work to get your range of motion back and build stability and strength that will last you for the long-term.

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