A wall walk gradually raises a stiff shoulder’s reach: face a wall, walk your fingers up as high as is comfortable, pause 5 seconds at the top, come back down, 10 times.
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 wall walk?
- Get set: Face a wall from one arm’s length back.
- Move: Creep your fingertips up the wall until you reach a comfortable limit, then creep them back down.
- How many: Hold 5 seconds at the top. Do 10.
How does the wall walk help you recover?
With the wall bearing some of the arm’s weight, overhead reach comes back bit by bit without straining the shoulder.
How high you can reach is one of the changes we write down at each re-check.
Which mistakes should you watch for?
- Hiking your shoulder up toward your ear.
- Arching your back to reach higher.
- Pushing past a gentle stretch.
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
- Let your fingers do the walking.
- The shoulder stays down.
- Mark your high point and beat it slowly.
Show us you have it: Do the wall walk for us so we can record today’s high point in your chart. 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.