Beginner Shoulder Tendon Repair Rehabilitation

Program Overview This is a seven-week, beginner-level rehabilitation guide for people recovering from shoulder tendon repair surgery. It is designed to be followed three times per week, with each session lasting about 45 minutes, using a foam roller, a rower, and a hand exerciser. The program moves gradually from protected rest toward active shoulder movement, always guided by your surgeon's and physical therapist's instructions.

Who This Program Is For and Its Goal This program is for adults who have had a shoulder tendon repair and are cleared by their surgical team to begin structured rehabilitation at a beginner level. The goal is to gently restore shoulder range of motion, control, and light strength while protecting the healing tendon. It is not a substitute for hands-on supervision, and your therapist will tailor it to your specific repair and stage.

Before You Start Please read this section fully before your first session. Your safety comes first, and your clinician's advice always overrides anything written here.

Safety Notes and When to Stop Because of your risk of blood clots and concerns about the repair being stable, do not add resistance, stretching, or new movements unless your surgeon or therapist approves them. Always warm up before exercising, stop if pain increases, and keep your spine in a neutral position. Stop immediately and contact your clinician if you notice sudden swelling, calf pain, shortness of breath, chest pain, new numbness, a sudden loss of motion, or pain that keeps getting worse.

Weekly Structure The plan runs seven weeks with three sessions per week and about 45 minutes each. You will use the foam roller, rower, and hand exerciser as tools, not targets. Expect to spend early weeks on protected, gentle motion, then progress toward active movement as your therapist confirms you meet each phase's criteria.

How the Seven-Week Plan Is Organized Think of the program in gentle phases: an early protection phase, then early passive motion, then active-assisted motion, then active motion, with later weeks building control and light strength. Your therapist decides when you move forward based on your symptoms and range of motion, not the calendar alone. Sessions stay consistent in length, but the content becomes gradually more active as you tolerate it.

What a Typical Session Looks Like Each session follows the same reassuring pattern: a warm-up, the main work, and a cool-down. Your therapist may also use hands-on techniques, cold therapy, electrical stimulation, or ultrasound to support healing.

Warm-Up, Main Work, and Cool-Down Begin with gentle arm swings or pendulum motions and light foam-roller work on the upper back and shoulder blade area, keeping your spine neutral. The main work follows your current phase, using the hand exerciser for gentle grip and the rower only as your therapist allows for light, supported movement. Cool down with slow, pain-free motion and cold therapy if advised. Keep everything within your approved range.

Tracking Progress Your therapist will recheck your motion, strength, and symptoms regularly and use this to guide each step forward. Progress is earned by meeting safety and motion criteria, not by pushing through pain.

How Progression Criteria Are Used You move to the next phase only when you meet the listed signs, such as comfortable passive motion, minimal swelling, and no increase in tendon pain. Your therapist confirms these during visits. Outcome measures like the Constant-Murley score, UCLA rating, DASH, ASES, pain scales, and goniometer readings help track your recovery over time and guide adjustments.

Recovery and Self-Care Recovery takes patience. Rest when tired, keep the shoulder supported as instructed, and follow your surgeon's sling and activity rules. Ask your therapist before changing anything.

Pain Management Cautions Use cold therapy as directed for comfort, and never exceed prescribed limits on stimulation or ultrasound; these are clinician-guided tools. Rest helps healing, but complete inactivity is not the goal. Red flags include worsening pain, new swelling, calf tenderness, breathlessness, chest pain, fever, or a shoulder that suddenly feels unstable—call your clinician right away.