Treatment of the impingement begins with proper evaluation of the injury. Due to the highly mobile nature of the shoulder, a proper orthopaedic evaluation should be performed to rule out other causes of the shoulder pain. The physician will often times prescribe oral nonsteroidial anti-inflammatory (NSAID) medications, or give the athlete a localized injection of corticosteroids in the subacromial space. Both of these medications help to reduce the inflammation of the damaged structures and are the beginning of the recovery process.

Ignoring an impingement will cause the problem to progress and worsen. A good sports medicine physician will prescribe therapy in conjunction with the NSAIDS. Proper therapy is a very important, it needs to concentrate on general strengthening and flexibility of all muscles of the shoulder. These include the anterior, posterior, and medial deltoid, rotator cuff muscles, rhomboids, biceps and triceps muscles.

The shoulder muscles respond the best to low weight and high repetition work. That is, keep the weight under 7.5 lbs and perform 3 to 5 sets of 10 to 20 reps. Keep in mind that the RC muscles are endurance and not power muscles. Because of this many of the exercises for impingement respond better to high reps and low weight.

The workouts should be performed three times per week following an alternating day schedule. Flexibility exercises should be performed a minimum of two times daily, and up to four is preferred. Each set of the strengthening exercises should be performed in a slow and controlled fashion with 30 seconds of rest between sets. Stretches should be static, and be held for 10 seconds and repeated 5 to 7 times each.

The following are a list of exercises for treatment of impingement. They should be performed using standard PRE principles with increasing repetitions and weight on subsequent workout days. A suggested progression is: Monday perform 3 x 10 with one to two pounds, Wednesday 4 x 10, and Friday 5 x 10. The following week is performed with three to four pounds. Each week the sets and reps cycle, with an increasing weight up to 7.5 lbs. Please read on for descriptions and pictures of shoulder stretching and strength training exercises as they relate to treating impingement.