Intermediate Shoulder Post-Fracture Rehabilitation

Program Overview This is a six-week, intermediate-level rehabilitation guide for someone recovering from a shoulder fracture. It combines supervised hands-on care with gentle strengthening and balance work to help you rebuild movement and confidence. Sessions are short and designed to fit into a normal week.

Who This Program Is For and Its Goal This program suits people whose shoulder fracture is healing and who have been cleared to begin more active rehabilitation. The main goal is to gradually restore shoulder movement, light strength, and everyday function while staying safe. You will work with your clinician, who adjusts the pace based on how you respond.

Before You Start Before beginning, make sure your physician has cleared you for active rehabilitation and any external fixation pin sites are free of infection. Confirm your first physiotherapy appointment is booked. Tell your clinician about any history of compartment syndrome or blood clot risk, as these can change what is safe for you.

Safety Notes and When to Stop Warm up before every session and keep your spine in a neutral, comfortable position. Stop if pain increases and tell your clinician. Seek urgent care for severe swelling, a cold or pale limb, unusual shortness of breath, chest pain, or calf pain and swelling, which can signal serious problems like compartment syndrome or a blood clot.

Weekly Structure You will do two sessions per week, each about twenty minutes, across six weeks. The plan moves through three phases, roughly two weeks each. Early phases focus on gentle movement and soft tissue work; later phases add light strengthening and balance challenges. Equipment like the stationary bike and balance board supports warm-up and stability.

How the Six Weeks Are Organized Each phase builds on the last. In the first phase you focus on comfortable motion and soft tissue care. Around week four you add light resisted movement and grip work. By week six you aim for functional reaching and lifting with acceptable pain. Your clinician decides when to move forward.

What a Typical Session Looks Like A session usually starts with a short stationary-bike warm-up, then hands-on techniques such as myofascial release or Graston where appropriate. Main work includes light dumbbell exercises and, later, balance-board or dip-station tasks as cleared. It finishes with gentle range-of-motion and cool-down to settle the shoulder.

Warm-Up, Main Work, Cool-Down Begin with a few minutes on the stationary bike to raise your heart rate gently, then shoulder mobility drills. Main work uses light dumbbells for controlled movements and, when ready, balance-board or dip-station tasks under supervision. Cool down with slow stretching and relaxed breathing. The ankle brace is used only if your clinician advises it for stability.

Tracking Progress Your clinician tracks range of motion, return-to-sport readiness, and quality-of-life measures over the six weeks. You will also note pain levels during and after activity. Simple records of what you did and how it felt help guide safe progression and show your improvement over time.

How Progression Criteria Are Used Moving between phases depends on meeting specific checkpoints, such as soft tissue feeling free of significant adhesion, grip strength reaching about half of the unaffected side, and no pain increase at forty-eight hours after new exercises. These signs, plus your outcome measures, guide your clinician in advancing you safely.

Recovery and Self-Care Rest between sessions and follow your home exercise program as advised, aiming for most days of the week. Keep activity within comfortable limits and avoid sudden increases. Good sleep, hydration, and pacing support healing. Report any new or worsening symptoms to your clinician rather than pushing through.

Pain Management Cautions and Red Flags Some mild discomfort with activity can be normal, but stop if pain climbs and tell your clinician. Do not push through sharp pain, new swelling, or numbness. Seek urgent help for severe limb pain, color changes, breathlessness, or calf swelling, as these may signal serious complications requiring immediate assessment.