Shoulder Pendulum
What Is the Shoulder Pendulum?
Shoulder Pendulum is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the shoulders, though by design it asks very little of the muscles around the joint. It is a beginner-level movement done bent forward at the hips with one hand resting on a bench, while the other arm hangs straight down and swings in small arcs and circles that come from gentle sway of the body rather than from the shoulder itself.
Often called Codman's exercise, the pendulum is one of the most common first exercises in shoulder rehabilitation. It is routinely prescribed in the early weeks after rotator cuff repair and other shoulder surgery, and for frozen shoulder, shoulder fractures and painful shoulders that are too sore to lift. Letting the arm hang lets gravity take it gently away from the socket, and rocking the body moves it without the shoulder muscles having to lift it, so the joint keeps moving at a stage when active lifting is not yet allowed or not yet tolerated.
The drill is close to passive rather than completely passive. With the arm relaxed and the circles small, the rotator cuff and deltoid work only lightly, but bigger circles and swinging the arm with the shoulder muscles turn it into an active exercise and raise the load on the joint. The back muscles and the supporting arm hold the bent-over position. Because most of the motion comes from the trunk, the shoulder joint itself moves fairly little, which makes the pendulum a gentle starting point rather than the exercise that wins back lost range.
Shoulder Pendulum suits clients recovering from a shoulder injury or surgery on a plan from their surgeon or physical therapist, older adults and low-mobility clients with a stiff or sore shoulder, and anyone who needs a very easy way to get a shoulder moving before other work. The real skill is relaxing the arm completely and letting the body do the work. Once the shoulder is cleared for more, active-assisted work such as Stick Lying Shoulder Flexion and then Seated Arm Circles are natural next steps.
Muscles Worked
- Deltoid
- Primary
- Teres Minor
- Low
- Biceps Femoris
- Minimal
- Latissimus Dorsi
- Minimal
- Rhomboid Major
- Minimal
Instructions
- Stand beside a sturdy flat bench with your feet about hip-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
- Hinge forward at the hips with a flat back and place the hand of your non-working arm flat on the bench, elbow straight, to support your upper body.
- Let the working arm hang straight down toward the floor, completely relaxed, with the fingers loose.
- Gently shift your weight forward and back so the hanging arm swings forward and back in a small arc.
- Shift your weight side to side so the arm swings across your body and back out.
- Sway your body in a small circle so the hand traces circles about the size of a dinner plate, first in one direction, then the other.
- Keep the shoulder relaxed throughout, letting the body sway drive the arm rather than the shoulder muscles, and breathe steadily.
- Widen the circles only gradually and only as far as stays comfortable.
- To finish, let the arm come to rest, then push through the supporting hand and stand up slowly.
Common Mistakes
Swinging the arm with the shoulder
Using the shoulder muscles to move the arm turns a near-passive drill into an active one, when the swing should come from gentle sway of the body.
Making the circles too big too soon
Large circles demand more from the rotator cuff, so start around the size of a dinner plate and widen them only as the shoulder allows.
Rounding the lower back
Bending over by slumping the spine instead of hinging at the hips with a flat back loads the lower back, especially without weight on the supporting hand.
Tensing the arm and hand
A clenched fist or a stiff elbow keeps the shoulder muscles switched on, so let the arm hang loose with the fingers relaxed.
Rushing the swing
Fast swings need the shoulder muscles to control the arm, so keep the rhythm slow and easy.
Standing up too quickly
Coming up fast after time bent over can make you dizzy, so push through the supporting hand and rise slowly.
Injuries
Shoulder Pendulum is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The two places it can complain are the shoulder itself, when the circles grow large or the shoulder muscles start swinging the arm, and the lower back, which holds the bent-over position. Some people also feel dizzy or lightheaded from bending forward or from standing back up too quickly.
Keep the arm completely relaxed and let small shifts of body weight drive the swing. Start with small circles and enlarge them only gradually: in healthy adults, large pendulum circles about 20 inches across produced more supraspinatus activity than small 8-inch circles, and on the large circles, moving the arm with the shoulder muscles instead of letting the body sway swing it raised that activity further. Lean on the bench with the supporting hand, keep the knees soft and the back flat, and come up slowly at the end. After shoulder surgery, follow your surgeon's or physical therapist's plan for when to start, how big the circles can be and how often to do them, because doing too much too soon can slow healing.
To make the exercise easier, lean forward a little less, keep the circles smaller or do it seated, leaning forward in a sturdy chair with the arm hanging beside the leg, which also suits clients whose backs object to bending over. To progress once the shoulder is cleared for more, move on to active-assisted work such as Stick Lying Shoulder Flexion, then to Seated Arm Circles.
Stop if you feel a sharp or increasing pain in the shoulder, pain that spreads down the arm, numbness or tingling in the hand, back pain or dizziness, and check with your clinician before trying again.
- Primary Focus
- Shoulders
- Equipment
- Body weight and bench
- Modality
- Stretching
- Difficulty
- Beginner
Alternative Exercises
Other Names for the Shoulder Pendulum
The Shoulder Pendulum is also known as:
- Codman's Exercise
- Pendulum Swing
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: Is the Shoulder Pendulum a passive exercise?
Mostly, when it is done well. With the arm hanging loose, small circles and the body doing the rocking, the shoulder muscles work only lightly, but larger circles or swinging the arm with the shoulder make it noticeably more active.
- Q: Will pendulums get my shoulder range back?
Not on their own. A motion-capture study of healthy volunteers found that pendulum swings come mainly from trunk movement and move the shoulder joint itself very little, so they are better as gentle early movement than as the way to regain lost range, which takes active-assisted work such as Stick Lying Shoulder Flexion once it is allowed.
- Q: How long and how often should I do pendulums?
A common plan is about 10 circles or 30 to 60 seconds in each direction, plus forward-and-back and side-to-side swings, repeated a few times a day. Protocols vary, so follow your clinician's numbers if you have them.
- Q: Should I hold a weight during pendulums?
Start without one. Some rehab programs add a light dumbbell later, once the clinician approves, but the arm still has to hang relaxed and the body still drives the swing.
- Q: Can I do pendulums after shoulder surgery?
Usually yes, since they are one of the most common early exercises after rotator cuff repair and other shoulder operations. Start only when your surgeon says so, and keep to the circle size and frequency they set.
- Q: What if bending over hurts my back?
Lean forward less and put more weight through the hand on the bench, or do the pendulum seated, leaning forward in a sturdy chair with the arm hanging beside your leg. If your back still hurts, skip the exercise and ask your clinician for another way to move the shoulder.