Healthy Shoulder Handbook: 100 Exercises for Treating and Preventing Frozen Shoulder, Rotator Cuff and other Common Injuries

I had left rotator cuff surgery in May of 2024 followed by five months of physical therapy. I bought the Healthy Shoulder Handbook by Dr. Karl Knoph to help me do some additional stretching exercises to regain a little more range of motion. I started at Chapter Three: The Exercises which contain the Passive and Gentle Series, Floor Series, Roller series, Cane Series, Wall and Door Series, Active Range of Motion Series, Resistance Conditioning Series, Dumbbell Series and Self Massage Series. Each series has numerous exercises to help you gain strength, stamina, and stability in the different muscles, ligaments, tendons, bursas and joints. There is a Rotator Cuff Sample Program that I followed which helped tremendously. I recommend this book to anyone suffering shoulder issues and/or pain.

This is an excellent book to pick up where your physical therapist left off. I had just begun to improve when my insurance would no longer pay for my therapy. On my last day of therapy my PT gave me a 1 page hand out that did not clearly illustrate the execises that I needed to begin. I looked up those exercises in this book which were clearly illustrated by photos with suggestions regarding posture while performing these exercises. While it is true that the author does not give a routine to rehabilitate specific injuries, there is no one size fits all plan. Everyone must have an individualized plan. For instance, my therapist does not want me to use resistance training so I have to work around this. There are plenty other exercises to be done other than the bands or using the weights in this book. At first I was only able to do a limited no. of exercises & now I can do more. These exercises have helped with range of motion & is improving stabilization. The goal of my therapist is to improve muscle strenght to prevent further injury & the only way to do that is by a good daily exercise routine. This author gives helpful pointers such as not to sleep on affected side, nor prop yourself up on affected side while reading, nor prop affected arm up in the car window.

The book starts with shoulder anatomy that helped me understand the mechanics of how the shoulder works. Next it goes over common symptoms, assessment and potential treatments. Above half way into the book the exercises start. Some of them are extremely simple to do, but I could immediately feel stretching I was achieving after just a few repetitions. Some exercises are easy to do while sitting in front of the computer so it is something that easy to do even while you are working. Gradually exercises become more intense. Some exercises involve props such as towel, rubber bands, weights and sticks. What could be better? The images in the book a fairly small and sometimes it is hard to see the exact details of the movements. I would have liked to see larger images and more images per exercise. Ali Julia review

When the book arrives, you can flip to any page and get going immediately. Of course they recommend that you read the intro and skim the book so you can build a daily routine. Every page has multiple photos of the exercises, starting position, middle, and ending position, with a brief explanation of each position - could not be easier to follow to understand what to do, how to do it, and why. It starts with some basic physiology (great to learn how intricate and fragile the shoulder really is), moves into light stretches and exercises, then applies resistance as you advance through your therapy. More than 1/2 of the 'exercises' can be done without any weights or bands - stand, sit, lie on the floor, or use a wall - doesn't get more flexible than that (pun intended). 'Exercise' refers to both static stretches and active movement. The most basic can be done anywhere: waiting in line, in the car, at your desk. More advanced versions include bands, light weights, foam rollers. Most can be competed in a minute or two. Build a routine that works for you at certain times. My shoulder injury is steadily improving with the help of this book. This book is well worth the money and will be used long after my shoulder is healed for long-term maintenance.

highly recommended the shoulder exercises book!

To my untrained eye, the exercises and general information on the shoulder and shoulder injuries seems good, clear and concise. There was no information on a torn labrum (my condition), nor did the anatomical drawings even show that the labrum exists. There are suggested sets of exercises for different sports and professions, which is very cool. I was happy to see the page dedicated to people who have a desk job. While each exercise is explained well with good pictures, for TREATING injuries there is no guidance for what exercises may be helpful. Overall, I would say this is a book for preventing, and NOT for treating a shoulder injury. If you have an injury you will need a doctor or PT person can tell you which exercises to do.

I play tennis and tore cartilege in my shoulder a couple years ago, requiring surgery. I hope to never go through that experience again. I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful physical therapist who worked with me through my rehab. I now realize how delicate the shoulder joint is and the importance of keeping it strong and healthy. Many of the exercises in this book are what my therapist had me doing for my rehab and ongoing strength development. Regardlesss of your sport, and even if you don't play sports, I strongly recommend this book to keep your should healthy. It has different chapters focused on various strenghtening movements depending on what your need is. It's one of the best books on physical fitness I own. I heard the author on a local radio station and that's how I came to discover this gem.

I bought this book recently after the return of pain which I remembered from an occurence of impingement a few years ago, for which I had received physical therapy. Perhaps I have this book to thank for not having to go down that route again. At any rate, since I have been doing exercises from the book the pain has subsided and my bad shoulder feels much stronger and is giving me ever less trouble. Avoiding using a troubled joint and allowing it to weaken can, as this book points out, make the problem worse rather than helping and here suitable exercises can help The book includes a introductory section on the anatomy of the shoulder and moves from there to a concise discussion of some more and less common shoulder problems with an account of their symptoms and treatment. A further section provides suggestions for stretching and trengthening routines for various kinds of sporting and other activities. Then the bulk of the text offers exercises designed to stretch, strengthen and stabilise the shoulder which one can with just one's arms and shoulder, with weights, lying down, against a wall, with a Theraband or a stick. These are illustrated with photographs and explained very clearly. Clearly, there are things that a book will never do for you: neither can it ultimately diagnose a condition, nor can it check that you are doing the relevant exercises with good form. But all in all, I would say that this is a pretty helpful book if you want to strengthen your shoulder joint.

Qualità pessima delle pagine, che sembrano stampate con un stampante a getto di inchiostro scarica, della copertina untuosa, e del contenuto: gli esercizi ci sono, ma sono descritti male e catalogati per ... non so come dire.. ruolo ? Calciatore, muratore, tennista e non per patologia o muscolo da sviluppare. Boh!

Straight forward teaching regarding the shoulder anatomy, movement & functioning. Provides treatment plans depending on your activity. Safety & self respect emphasized. Good instructions, photos and diagrams. I will find this useful in my recovery.

I had been suffering with a damaged supraspinatus tendon for nearly 12 months following a skiing fall, and at times would struggle to get a coat on or raise my arm overhead. My chiropractor suggested I take some glucosamine and MSM and build up my shoulder muscles, and although I had some success with Sarah Keys shoulder exercises, I still had some residual pain, and couldn't sleep on one side, which was quite frustrating. I wasn't ready to accept that this was something I would have to live with, although this was looking like it was going to be the case for me. The exercises in this book are well described and photographed and even after a month I have seen some significant improvement in strength and range of movement, and the discomfort is almost gone. This is not a complicated exercise regime either - the general conditioning exercises only take about 5 minutes a day to do. In short this is a very useful and effective self help book, which I would recommend for other people suffering with similar problems.

Has a lot of exercises with many variations Intro is great and give the core basics Has exercises for many different levels and perposes