Supraspinatus muscle strengthening exercise: Health Benefits, How to Do?, Variations

Supraspinatus muscle strengthening exercise is a great way to improve function of your shoulder and scapular region and improve your fitness level and stamina that helps to improve your performance in day to day activity or in sports.

What is the Supraspinatus muscle strengthening exercise?

The supraspinatus muscle is small in your upper back. This muscle supports the rotator cuff, which is located around your shoulder joint. Tears in the rotator cuff generally start in the supraspinatus tendon, and if you do not give proper care, can extend to other muscles within the rotator cuff.

The supraspinatus muscle supports the top of your upper-arm bone during upper-limb functional activities. If your supraspinatus is weak or injured and it can not provide this support, you are more likely to have shoulder issues.
so strengthening exercise of supraspinatus muscles is necessary to provide better support to the shoulder and prevent its injury.

The supraspinatus is an upper back muscle that leads to shoulder abduction and stabilization. This is also one of the four shoulder muscles that form up the rotator cuff, helping to raise the arm away from the side of your body.

Your supraspinatus is a small muscle in your scapulae that can be the origin of a lot of pain if not taken care of.The action of supraspinatus muscles is the Initiate abduction and depress the humeral head against the upward pull of the deltoid. This muscle and tendon travel slightly obliquely from posterior to anterior, allowing it to contribute to external rotation also.

Health benefits of Supraspinatus muscle strengthening exercise:

• It stabilizes the shoulder and upper back muscles.
• Increases good blood circulation in that area.
• Improves posture.
• Decrease neck and head pain.
• Increase range of motion of shoulder joint.
• Reduce tightness in the shoulder joint.
• Improve the shoulder function.

Different types of Supraspinatus muscle strengthening exercise:

Prone External Rotation

How to do it?

• To perform this exercise you have to Lie on your tummy with your left upper arm hanging halfway off the side of a bed or bench at shoulder level.
• grab a 1- to 2-pound weight in your left hand, rotate your forearm and hand upward until your forearm is parallel with the floor.
• Hold this position for 2 to 4 seconds, then return to the starting position.
• After completing ten repetitions, perform the same exercise with the right arm.

• This exercise strengthens both the infraspinatus and supraspinatus muscles and helps to improve shoulder posture.

Resisted External Rotation

How to do it?

• To perform this exercise you have to stand with your right side facing a door.
• With one end of a resistance band secured in the door handle, hold the other end in your left hand.
• Keep your left elbow flexed up to a ninety-degree angle and resting firmly against your side.
• Rotate your left forearm away from the door as much as you can without turning your torso.
• As you do this, squeeze your shoulder blade down and back.
• Don’t let your elbow leave your side. After a 2 to 4-second hold, release your shoulder blade as you rotate the forearm back to the initial position. Do 10 repetitions before switching to the right side.

Prone Elevation

How to do it?

• To perform this exercise you have to Lie on your tummy with your right arm hanging off the edge of a bed. Hold a one to two-pound weight in your right hand.
• With your right thumb facing the sky, raise your arm slightly above ear level until it is even with the bed. Don’t shrug your shoulder or lift your shoulder off the bed as you perform.
• Hold your right arm in this position for one to two seconds and then lower it back down.
• After completing this ten times, repeat with the left arm.

Side-Lying External Rotation

How to do it?

• To perform this exercise you have to Lie on your left side with your right elbow flexed at a ninety-degree angle and your palm resting against your abdomen. grab a 2-pound weight in your right hand.
• Set your right shoulder blade down and back. Then, rotate your right palm and forearm away from your tummy until your forearm is straight up and down.
• Maintain this position for 2 to 4 seconds and then slowly rotate your arm back to your belly.
• After 10 repetitions, repeat with the left arm.

Full Can

How to do it?

• To perform this exercise you have to stand on one end of a resistance band and hold the other end in your left hand.
• You can also use a 1- to 2-pound dumbbell in place of a resistance band.
• With an extended elbow and your thumb positioned up, elevate your arm at a forty-five-degree angle with your body.
• Once you have lifted the arm slightly above ear level, hold this position for one to two seconds and then slowly lower back to your left side.
• Do not shrug your shoulder as you perform.
• After 10 repetitions, repeat the exercise on the right side.

Prone Full Can Raise

How to do it?

• To perform this exercise you have to Lie flat on your tummy on a bench or bed.
• Begin with your arms facing down toward the floor, slightly in front of your shoulders, as opposed to directly under the shoulders, with your palms facing forward.
• Elevate your arms directly to the side until they reach about shoulder height, then slowly lower.

• The prone full can or shoulder T also called horizontal abduction in external rotation, is designed to provide dynamic stability, optimal muscle length, and tension, and proper positioning of the scapula and shoulder girdle.

T-Band Rows

How to do it?

• To perform this exercise you have to Wrap a band around a pole or any immovable object at belly button height.
• Hold on to both ends of the band so that there is equal length on both sides, while also keeping tension in the band at the initial position.
• start with your elbows extended with an upright trunk (maintained throughout), and then pull your elbows straight back, keeping them tucked in.
• Pinch the shoulders while pulling the band back. Imagine trying to squeeze a pencil between your shoulder blades.

Incline Reverse Lateral Dumbbell Raise

How to do it?

• To perform this exercise you have to Lie face-down on an inclined bench.
• Grab a dumbbell in both hands below your chest with your arms fully extended.
• Raise your arms to shoulder height, arcing the weights away from each other
• Return to the initial position.

When did you not do the supraspinatus strengthening exercise?

• If your doctor advised you to take a rest.
• If you feel any pain or discomfort during this exercise then stop immediately and consult your therapist.
• If your arm bone is recently fractured.
• If your muscle is recently injured.