When your shoulders feel stiff, stretching might seem like the go-to solution. However, in many cases, stretching only provides a temporary relief rather than a long-term fix — and in some instances, it can even make the problem worse.
To truly address the issue, it’s important to understand why your shoulders are stiff in the first place.
Rather than relying on passive stretching, a more effective approach involves targeted mobility, strength, and breathing exercises. These exercises can help correct muscle imbalances, improve joint stability, and enhance overall shoulder function.
Why Are Your Shoulders Stiff?
The shoulder joint is the most mobile in the body, offering a wide range of motion. However, this mobility comes at a price — it is also the least stable joint.
Unlike the hip, which has a deep ball-and-socket structure for support, the shoulder’s shallow socket relies on a network of muscles, tendons, and ligaments for stability. The scapula (shoulder blade), clavicle (collarbone), and humerus (upper arm bone) all depend on the coordinated effort of muscles like the rotator cuff, trapezius, serratus anterior, and deltoids to control movement and maintain joint integrity.
When the deeper stabilizing muscles of the shoulder — such as the lower trapezius, serratus anterior, and rotator cuff — aren’t firing correctly, larger muscles like the upper trapezius (near the neck and upper back) and pectoralis major (upper chest) tend to compensate. This leads to excessive tension, poor joint positioning, and ultimately, stiffness and discomfort.
These imbalances are common among people who spend long hours sitting at a desk, slouching over devices, or frequently performing overhead movements in sports or workouts.
Why Stretching Isn’t the Solution
While stretching tight shoulders might provide temporary relief, it doesn’t address the root cause of the stiffness. In fact, excessive stretching can actually increase instability, putting more strain on the joint and potentially leading to pain or injury.
In my experience working with professional baseball teams over the past two decades, I’ve witnessed firsthand how well-intentioned stretching can sometimes do more harm than good. Years ago, many teams encouraged pitchers to perform the “sleeper stretch” — lying on your side and using your top arm to push the bottom arm into internal rotation — to improve shoulder mobility. However, mobility experts later discovered that this stretch could make the shoulder joint excessively loose and unstable, raising the risk of injury rather than preventing it.
This shift in understanding reinforced a key lesson: rather than focusing on stretching, the priority should be on restoring proper muscle activation, optimizing alignment, and enhancing movement patterns.
What Actually Works: A Smarter Approach to Shoulder Health
To effectively relieve shoulder stiffness and restore healthy function, you need a comprehensive approach that includes:
- Targeted strength training to activate underused muscles and improve joint stability
- Controlled mobility exercises to enhance joint mechanics and reinforce proper movement patterns
- Breathing techniques to improve posture and alignment while reducing compensatory tension
Below are four exercises that address these key areas, which can be done as a standalone routine two to three times per week or incorporated into your regular workouts.
As always, be sure to consult your doctor before starting any new exercise program and stop immediately if you experience pain.
Breathing bridge
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet hip-width apart. Place a foam yoga block or rolled towel between your knees.
Rest your hands on your lower ribs to track their movement: the ribs should move inward as you exhale and outward as you inhale.
Fully exhale, engaging your core as your ribs draw inward and your rib cage moves down toward your waist. At the end of the exhale, tuck your tailbone and lift your hips 3 to 4 inches off the floor, ensuring your lower back stays flat.
Hold this position for five deep breaths, maintaining core and glute activation.
Rest for 15 to 30 seconds, then repeat for a total of two sets and 10 breaths.
Why it works: This breathing exercise enhances deep core activation and improves breathing mechanics, which helps reduce unnecessary tension in the shoulders that can limit mobility. It also optimizes rib cage positioning to better stabilize the shoulder blades, collarbones, and upper arm bones.
Scapular wall slides
Stand with your back against a wall, feet 6 to 8 inches away, and knees slightly bent. Press your entire back and head into the wall, engaging your core to keep your lower ribs down and your lower back pressed against the wall.
Raise your arms to shoulder height, bending your elbows at 90 degrees, ensuring the backs of your hands, elbows, and shoulders are in contact with the wall.
Inhale as you slowly slide your arms upward until maintaining contact becomes challenging. Exhale as you return to the starting position.
While this exercise may seem simple, keeping all contact points—especially your lower back—on the wall can be quite difficult. Focus more on maintaining contact than on how far you move your arms.
Complete five repetitions, coordinating each with your breath, and focus on drawing your lower ribs in, back, and down with each exhale.
Do two to three sets, resting about 30 seconds between sets.
Why it works: This mobility and stability exercise enhances the function of the muscles that move and stabilize the shoulder blades, helping to release tension in the front of the shoulders and chest, and counteracting slouching.
Tall kneeling kettlebell hold
Place a kettlebell weighing between 5 and 20 pounds on the floor, with a pad or folded towel in front of it.
Choose a weight appropriate for your fitness level — not too heavy. Kneel on the pad with your back facing the kettlebell.
Position your feet hip-width apart with your toes curled forward.
Sit back on your heels and reach behind you with both hands to grip the kettlebell handle.
Exhale as you engage your core and push your hips forward, lifting the kettlebell behind you while rising into a tall kneeling position.
Ensure your shoulders, ribs, and hips are aligned over your knees, without arching your back. Hold the kettlebell with straight arms, keeping your shoulders open.
Maintain this position for five deep breaths, focusing on using your exhales to keep your rib cage down and your inhales to expand your lower ribs.
Rest for one to two minutes between repetitions, and repeat one or two times.
Why it works: This exercise strengthens postural control and shoulder stability by aligning the shoulders, rib cage, and hips in a neutral position. The movement also serves as a positional breathing exercise, using breathwork to restore alignment and reduce compensatory tension.
Double bent-knee twist with shoulder windmill
