{"id":2788,"date":"2015-02-01T10:00:14","date_gmt":"2015-02-01T10:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/?p=2788"},"modified":"2025-11-18T16:20:46","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T16:20:46","slug":"throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket","title":{"rendered":"Thrower\u2019s shoulder: It\u2019s just not cricket"},"content":{"rendered":"

For cricket fans (and yes, I\u2019m one) the start of the cricket season is one of my favourite times of year.<\/p>\n

As a Physiotherapist<\/a> (and I\u2019m one of those, too) it\u2019s one of my busiest. One of the most common workload boosters being a nasty little condition called Thrower\u2019s Shoulder.<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re turning out for a club, the pub side, or just playing hit-and-run with the kids in the park, it\u2019s one of the most common cricketing injuries (though in truth throwing a tennis ball for the dog can bring it on equally easily).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s usually felt on a hard throw, particularly if you haven\u2019t thrown a ball for a while, and is characterised by a sharp pain inside the shoulder. Whilst it\u2019s acute, it only lasts a few seconds, but repeated often enough, it will create an actual injury.<\/p>\n

Otherwise known as impingement syndrome, Thrower\u2019s Shoulder is the result of the supporting tendons of the shoulder being pressed up against the top of the shoulder. Over time this will create inflammation or swelling and become painful in the front or side of the shoulder. Normally, along with the pain there is also significant functional limitation (generally worse lifting an object away from the body or an overhead task).<\/p>\n

Left untreated, the inflammatory process will form scar tissue around the tendon and the injury will re-occur, eventually creating a chronic process or worse still, tearing the Labrum (the cartilage of the shoulder).<\/p>\n

Once this happens, it will become harder to manage conservatively; patients often require multiple steroid injections or worse still surgery.<\/p>\n

No-one wants that. So whether you\u2019ve already felt your first few twinges, or you want to help ensure an injury-free summer playing at long leg for the Three Horseshoes, here are a few simple exercises to keep your shoulder and throwing arm mobile and pain-free.<\/p>\n

For all the following exercises, start by squeezing the shoulders back and down, and maintain this posture throughout.<\/p>\n

Most require the use of therabands, available from your physio or a good sports store. They\u2019re colour-coded for resistance (going light to heavy, it\u2019s yellow, red, green, blue, black), choose the one that you can complete 10 reps with whilst maintaining perfect posture and form.<\/p>\n

\n

1. Shoulder posture<\/strong><\/p>\n

a) Pectoral stretch:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"1\"<\/p>\n

Pull back as far as you can to open the front of the shoulder as far as possible, hold for 30sec.<\/p>\n

b) Shoulder retraction: <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"2\"<\/p>\n

Hang theraband over a door handle and take hold of either end, palms forwards, elbows straight, pressing towards the floor. Pull back and hold 5 secs.<\/p>\n

(10 reps.)<\/p>\n

\n

2. External rotation<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"3\"<\/p>\n

Keep your elbow tucked in by your side, turn out (1sec), return slowly (3sec).<\/p>\n

(10 reps.)<\/p>\n

\n

3. Internal rotation<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"4\"<\/p>\n

Keep your elbow tucked in by your side, turn in (1sec) and return slowly (3sec).<\/p>\n

(10 reps.)<\/p>\n

\n

4. Cross body adduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"5\"<\/p>\n

Attach band to the top of a closed door. Pull down until your arm is by your side (1sec) and slowly return (3sec).<\/p>\n

(10 reps.)<\/p>\n

\n

5. Cross body abduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"6\"<\/p>\n

With the band attached under your opposite foot, keeping the hand palm down, lift up to 90 degrees (1sec) and slowly return (3sec).<\/p>\n

(10 reps.)<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

6. Rowing<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"7\"<\/p>\n

Attach band at doorknob height. Pull back (1 sec) and release (3 sec).<\/p>\n

(10 reps.)<\/p>\n

\n

7. Modified dips<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"8\"<\/p>\n

Arms tight to your sides, push your weight through your hands (to unweight, but not lift, your bum), hold 10 secs then release.<\/p>\n

\n

NB These exericses are part of a programme developed in the USA for throwing sports. The full programme can easily be found online, however this will often need modifying for your specific functional requirements, so I\u2019d suggest talking to your local Physio first.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For cricket fans the start of the cricket season is one of my favourite times of year. As a Physiotherapist<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":7896,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,114,116],"tags":[78,59],"class_list":["post-2788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-pain-injury","category-sports-performance","tag-cricket","tag-sport"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Avoid Cricket Shoulder Injuries A Guide | Ten Fitness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Struggling with shoulder pain from cricket? Learn how to prevent and manage Thrower\u2019s Shoulder with expert tips and simple exercises. Read our full guide now.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Avoid Cricket Shoulder Injuries A Guide | Ten Fitness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Struggling with shoulder pain from cricket? Learn how to prevent and manage Thrower\u2019s Shoulder with expert tips and simple exercises. Read our full guide now.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ten Health & Fitness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/pages\/TenPilates\/181187291162\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-02-01T10:00:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-18T16:20:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/phy10-throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1125\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Team Ten\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@TenPilates\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@TenPilates\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Team Ten\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket\",\"name\":\"How to Avoid Cricket Shoulder Injuries A Guide | Ten Fitness\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/phy10-throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-02-01T10:00:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-18T16:20:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/21a7582cddb43cb11f955d7e2a48530c\"},\"description\":\"Struggling with shoulder pain from cricket? Learn how to prevent and manage Thrower\u2019s Shoulder with expert tips and simple exercises. Read our full guide now.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/phy10-throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/phy10-throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1125},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Thrower\u2019s shoulder: It\u2019s just not cricket\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"Ten Health & Fitness\",\"description\":\"Giving you a slimmer figure and lean, toned muscles, fast. We have Studios throughout London \u2013 in Fitzrovia, Nine Elms, King's Cross, St James's, Notting Hill, Notting Hill Gate, Little Venice, Hatton Garden, Chiswick, Tottenham Court Road and the City.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/21a7582cddb43cb11f955d7e2a48530c\",\"name\":\"Team Ten\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bcb6df8abace917522b2d54b49756ffa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bcb6df8abace917522b2d54b49756ffa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Team Ten\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/author\/teamten\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Avoid Cricket Shoulder Injuries A Guide | Ten Fitness","description":"Struggling with shoulder pain from cricket? Learn how to prevent and manage Thrower\u2019s Shoulder with expert tips and simple exercises. Read our full guide now.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Avoid Cricket Shoulder Injuries A Guide | Ten Fitness","og_description":"Struggling with shoulder pain from cricket? Learn how to prevent and manage Thrower\u2019s Shoulder with expert tips and simple exercises. Read our full guide now.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket","og_site_name":"Ten Health & Fitness","article_publisher":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/pages\/TenPilates\/181187291162","article_published_time":"2015-02-01T10:00:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-18T16:20:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1125,"url":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/phy10-throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Team Ten","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@TenPilates","twitter_site":"@TenPilates","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Team Ten","Estimated reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket","url":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket","name":"How to Avoid Cricket Shoulder Injuries A Guide | Ten Fitness","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/phy10-throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket.jpg","datePublished":"2015-02-01T10:00:14+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-18T16:20:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/21a7582cddb43cb11f955d7e2a48530c"},"description":"Struggling with shoulder pain from cricket? Learn how to prevent and manage Thrower\u2019s Shoulder with expert tips and simple exercises. Read our full guide now.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/phy10-throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/phy10-throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket.jpg","width":2000,"height":1125},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/throwers-shoulder-its-just-not-cricket#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Thrower\u2019s shoulder: It\u2019s just not cricket"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/","name":"Ten Health & Fitness","description":"Giving you a slimmer figure and lean, toned muscles, fast. We have Studios throughout London \u2013 in Fitzrovia, Nine Elms, King's Cross, St James's, Notting Hill, Notting Hill Gate, Little Venice, Hatton Garden, Chiswick, Tottenham Court Road and the City.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/21a7582cddb43cb11f955d7e2a48530c","name":"Team Ten","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bcb6df8abace917522b2d54b49756ffa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bcb6df8abace917522b2d54b49756ffa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Team Ten"},"url":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/author\/teamten"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2788"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2788"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21314,"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2788\/revisions\/21314"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ten.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}