Shoulder Post Fracture Advanced Program

Program Overview This is an advanced, clinician-supervised shoulder rehabilitation guide for recovery after a shoulder fracture. It runs for 10 weeks, two sessions per week, about 20 minutes each. It blends progressive range-of-motion and strengthening exercise, manual therapy, electrical stimulation for muscle activation, tissue-healing modalities as needed, and sport-specific functional training. The equipment includes a balance board, cable machine, elliptical, and pull-up bar. This guide supports—but does not replace—assessment and direction from your treating clinician.

Who This Program Is For and Its Goal This program is for people recovering from a shoulder fracture who have been cleared as advanced by their clinician and are working toward full function. The goal is to safely restore shoulder movement, rebuild rotator cuff and scapular strength, protect the healing fracture and nearby structures, and return you to sport and daily activities. Because it is advanced, you should already have foundational control and be supervised as you progress through the phases.

Before You Start Have your clinician assess you first. Do not begin if you have limited range of motion that has not yet been assessed, or if you have acute inflammation. Your therapist will confirm your starting phase, check that the fracture and joints are protected, and set your individual limits. Never push into sharp pain, and always follow the specific guidance your clinician gives you over any general description here.

Safety Notes and When to Stop Some movements are off-limits until your clinician assesses your range of motion, and you should not exercise during acute inflammation. Stop if pain increases, and avoid overloading the shoulder. Call your clinician if you develop sudden severe pain, new swelling, a feeling of instability, numbness or tingling, or pain that keeps worsening despite rest. Progress gently, and let comfort guide how hard you work.

Weekly Structure You will do two sessions per week for 10 weeks, roughly 20 minutes each, using the balance board, cable machine, elliptical, and pull-up bar as appropriate to your phase. Early weeks focus on protection and pain control, then early mobility, then progressive strengthening, and finally sport-specific functional training. Your clinician adjusts the pace based on how you respond, so the timeline is a guide rather than a fixed schedule.

How the Plan Is Organized Across the 10 weeks, the plan moves through phases in plain terms: first protect the shoulder and keep pain low, then gently regain movement, then build strength and control, and finally add sport-specific training. Sessions are short and frequent, twice weekly, around 20 minutes. Equipment is introduced only when your phase and clinician allow it, so you may not use every piece in every week.

What a Typical Session Looks Like Expect a short warm-up, a main block of therapeutic exercise, and a cool-down. Your therapist may add manual therapy, electrical stimulation for rotator cuff activation, or ultrasound for tissue healing as needed. Sport-specific drills come later. Everything stays within your pain limits, and the session is kept brief and focused so you can recover between visits.

Warm-Up, Main Work, Cool-Down Pattern A typical session starts with gentle movement and light cardiovascular warm-up, such as easy elliptical work when cleared, to prepare the shoulder. The main block uses progressive range-of-motion and strengthening, cable machine resistance, and balance-board or pull-up-bar work only as your phase allows, alongside any manual therapy or stimulation. Cool-down includes calm breathing and gentle scapular and shoulder mobility to settle the tissues.

Tracking Progress Your clinician tracks your range of motion with goniometry, your rotator cuff strength by manual testing or handheld dynamometry, and your function and pain using scores such as the ASES, Constant-Murley, Simple Shoulder Test, and SPADI. These measures show whether you are ready to move to the next phase. Keep notes on pain during and after sessions to share at your visits.

How Progression Criteria Are Used You move between phases only when you meet the stated criteria—for example, comfortable pain levels, adequate passive and active range, and strength and scapular control targets—as judged by your clinician. Outcome measures add an objective picture of your function and disability over time. If criteria are not met, you stay in the current phase longer rather than rushing ahead.

Recovery and Self-Care Between sessions, rest the shoulder as advised and use your sling only as your clinician directs during early protection. Keep pain manageable, avoid overloading, and do only the home exercises you have been given. Good sleep, pacing your activities, and reporting changes promptly all support healing. Follow your clinician's guidance on returning to sport and heavier tasks.

Pain Management and Red Flags A mild, manageable increase in pain during exercise that settles quickly is common; stop if pain keeps rising or persists. Do not use this guide to self-prescribe medication—ask your clinician or pharmacist. Seek prompt care for sudden severe pain, new swelling, a feeling the shoulder is giving way, numbness, tingling, or weakness that worsens. These may signal a problem needing assessment.