Pendulum exercises, also called Codman's exercises, are often the first exercise given for a shoulder that hurts or will not move. You lean forward, let the arm hang, and let it swing. It looks too easy, which is why many people do it wrong.
What a pendulum is supposed to do
The arm hangs and the body does the moving. Gravity gives the joint a gentle pull, and the sway carries the arm through a small range without the rotator cuff lifting anything. After rotator cuff repair the surgeon wants the joint moving while the stitched tendon stays quiet; active lifting is usually off limits for weeks. In frozen shoulder, the pendulum gets motion started when harder stretching flares the pain.
How much is the cuff actually working?
A 2010 study in the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy measured cuff and deltoid activity in 13 healthy adults doing small (20 cm) and large (51 cm) circles, both correctly and with the shoulder driving the swing. Large circles pushed the supraspinatus and infraspinatus above 15 percent of a maximal contraction either way, and badly done large circles worked the supraspinatus hardest. The authors' conclusion: big pendulums may demand more force than is wise early after a repair.
A 2006 study of 26 people, nine with a painful shoulder, found a 1.5 kg weight did not raise deltoid or infraspinatus activity much, but people with shoulder problems had more trouble relaxing the supraspinatus and upper trapezius than healthy volunteers. Relaxing is the skill.
How to do it
- Rest your good hand on a table and bend forward from the hips so the sore arm hangs straight down.
- Let the arm go heavy and the shoulder drop away from your ear.
- Rock your body in a small circle; the arm follows like a weighted rope.
- Keep the circle about dinner-plate size, roughly 20 cm, and go both ways. Your therapist may add forward-and-back or side-to-side swings.
- Handouts often suggest about 10 circles each way, a few times a day. Your therapist sets the dose and whether a weight is ever added.
The mistake that defeats the purpose
Swing the arm with the shoulder and a passive exercise becomes an active one, loading the tissue you are trying to protect. Clues: the shoulder hitches toward the ear, the circles keep growing, or you can feel the arm working. If so, make the circle smaller, sway more from the hips and knees, and treat the arm as something you carry rather than move.
What the stages of frozen shoulder mean for this exercise
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons describes three stages. Freezing (typically 6 weeks to 9 months): pain climbs and motion drops. Frozen (4 to 6 months): pain often eases but stiffness stays. Thawing: motion slowly returns; full recovery can take 6 months to 2 years. Flexibility work is the main treatment throughout, but the emphasis shifts. While freezing, pendulums stay within comfort and nothing is forced. Later, they become the warm-up before firmer stretches.
Doing this exercise in a guided session
In a KineTrue camera-guided session a level shoulder and a small circle are visible, and your therapist can review recorded sessions to see how the exercise is really done between visits.
When you are cleared to start strengthening the cuff, see our guide to shoulder external rotation
Pendulums should feel like a gentle pull, not a strain. Stop and contact your surgeon or physical therapist if pain sharpens during the swing, if the shoulder is clearly worse for the rest of the day, or if you notice new numbness or swelling.