There are many post-op rehabilitation exercises that may be beneficial to a patient after shoulder surgery. In this article, we walk through two specific rehab exercises after shoulder surgery – Supine Active Forward Elevation and Supine Active Assisted Forward Elevation.
Supine Active Assisted Forward Elevation (SAAFE)
- Lay flat on your back on a bed, couch, floor, or table without a pillow under the head.
- Use a pillow at the side of the body and under the arm so that the arm does not pass the plane of the body on return back to neutral position as this will stress the repair.
- Relax your involved arm onto your abdomen. Grasp the wrist of the involved shoulder.
- Gently and easily put traction on your arm as you lift your arm toward the ceiling using your uninvolved arm.
- Slowly take the involved arm over your head and down toward the table.
- Once you begin to feel a stretch, hold the stretch for 10-20 seconds, then gently release the stretch and perform the exercise 10 times once a day unless otherwise instructed by your physician.
- Make sure that the uninvolved arm is doing all of the work and the involved shoulder is totally relaxed during this stretch.
Supine Active Forward Elevation (SAFE)
- Begin by lying on your back and reaching for the ceiling.
- Under your own control, take your arm back without the assistance of the other arm as far back toward the table as tolerated.
- Bend your elbow to create a shorter lever arm and bring the arm back to the original position.
- You may keep the arm straight instead of bending the elbow as you begin to get stronger.
- Once you are able to perform 15 reps easily and without any complaints you may increase the resistance by adding a 1 pound weight in your hand.
- Perform this exercise two times per day, every other day.
- You may progress to Wedge Assisted Forward Elevation (WAFE) if directed by your therapist and physician.
