The pendulum is a gentle exercise for a painful shoulder after an injury: lean on a table, let the sore arm hang, and sway your body so the arm drifts in small circles, 10 each way.
Not every exercise is for every patient. The ones meant for you carry a check mark on the home sheet your physician fills out; stick to those, morning and evening, every day, unless the sheet gives you a different schedule.
What are the steps for the pendulum?
- Get set: Lean on a table or counter with your good hand. Let your sore arm hang straight down.
- Move: Rock your weight gently so the dangling arm traces small circles. Let gravity do the moving.
- How many: About 30 seconds. Do 10 circles in each direction.
How does the pendulum help you recover?
It moves the shoulder joint without asking the hurt muscles to work. That keeps the shoulder from getting stiff while it heals, which matters after a seat belt injury or a fall onto an outstretched arm.
Our page on shoulder injury and pain covers how a shoulder hurt in a crash or fall is examined.
Which mistakes should you watch for?
- Swinging the arm with your shoulder muscles. Let your body rocking do it.
- Making big circles. Small ones are enough.
- Standing straight up instead of leaning over.
When should you stop and call us?
Feeling a stretch, a bit of ache, or next-day stiffness is expected and fine. Stop the exercise and call us if you notice any of these:
- Sharp or stabbing pain
- Pain that jumps 2 or more points above your usual and lasts over an hour
- New numbness, tingling or weakness
- Dizziness or a change in your vision
Call 911 right away for chest pain, fainting or trouble breathing.
Why does your exercise log matter?
Each time you finish your exercises, tick the box on your log, and jot your pain number down once a day. The log rides along to every visit. Your technician adds up your days, has you demonstrate one exercise so form can be checked, and enters that tally in the visit note, right beside the treatments.
What to remember
- Your body moves; the arm just hangs.
- Keep the circles small.
- Lean over the table.
Show us you have it: Show us the lean and a few small circles. If any part is unclear, ask us to go over it again; there is no limit on that.
Other shoulder exercises in the program
This page belongs to the Gateway Midwest physician-directed physiotherapy program. On Natural Bridge Road, the physician who examined you signs each order, and no treatment runs without a physician on site.
Hurt in an accident? Start here.
You do not need a lawyer, a police report or a referral to be seen. Bring your symptoms and we will work out the rest.
Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Same-day appointments are often available for new accident and injury patients.