The immediate reaction for shoulder bursitis is to prevent or reduce the swelling by application of an ice pack. After a few days heat can then be used to help reduce pain. A sling during these early days can help prevent movement of the joint allowing the swelling of the bursitis to reduce.
The initial recovery phase involves resting the shoulder joint. For sporting injuries this will necessitate the cessation of any further sporting activity to prevent the injury from becoming worse. As the pain subsides over a few days, then activity can resume at a steady pace.
Shoulder bursitis stretches are an important part of rehabilitation following a shoulder bursitis injury. Sufferers will be advised to carry out regular stretching exercises that will work the joint without over doing it. A typical shoulder bursitis stretch will involve light shoulder work only. For example the arm of the troubled shoulder can brought across the body pointing in the opposite direction, with the inside of the elbow against the chest.
The other hand is brought up against the elbow, pushing it lightly into the chest. The will cause a slight stretch in the shoulder joint. If no pain is felt, this stretch can be intensified by moving the pushing hand down the troubled arm, towards the wrist, pushing as it works its way down the arm. The additional leverage this exerts works the shoulder more. There should be no bouncing movements, and as soon as pain is felt in the shoulder, the pressing hand should release pressure. This is a common warm up exercise for many sports and is a good recovery model for sporting shoulder bursitis.
There are many shoulder bursitis stretches, but they will all involve a light stretch that the sufferer can control easily so that the pressure can be relieved as soon as the shoulder starts to get sore. For example, whilst seated a sufferer can lift both arms over and behind his or her head and grabbing the top of the chair back or clasping hands behind the head. Lifting the hands while pressing the back into the chair will work the shoulder joint.
A final shoulder bursitis stretch involves putting the palms of the hands against a wall and taking up a lunge stance, as if trying to push a wall or hold a falling wall up. Increasingly lean forward onto the hands while keeping the elbows bent. This is another way to stretch the shoulder while remaining in full control of the stretch.
Regardless of which shoulder bursitis stretches are used, it is important to retain full control of the movement, that is to say, avoid the use of exercise machines or weights. The body itself is enough to work the shoulder joint and achieve full recovery with these shoulder bursitis stretches.