– it’s something that most of us have heard of, and have maybe even done the occasional exercise or two for.
But how well do we really understand what it is and why it’s so important for our climbing? Today we are back with Physiotherapist Riley Hoare to take an in-depth look at the rotator cuff and it’s supportive role in the shoulder when climbing, and what to do if you suspect yours might need some work!
Supraspinatus is located right at very top of the scapula (shoulder blade), and then Infraspinatus sits directly below it taking up the bottom half of the scapula bone. Teres Minor connects to the scapula’s outside border, and finally Subscapularis is found on the underside of the scapula, right next to the rib cage.
To understand why the rotator cuff muscles are so important for climbers, we first need to talk a little about the anatomy of the shoulder joint.
The shoulder is a “ball and socket” joint - there is a ball made by the top of the humerus (the main bone in your upper arm), and a socket which it fits into, called the glenoid fossa. Unlike most other joints in the body, the shoulder has a very loose joint capsule and doesn’t have many strong ligaments to support it. This is beneficial because it allows the joint to be extremely mobile, and lets you move your arm freely through a huge range of motion in many different directions.
In fact, the shoulder joint is the most mobile joint in the body!
However, this means that instead of relying on the ligaments for stability, the shoulder is a “muscle-dependent” joint - it uses the muscles around the joint for stability.
There are many muscles the surround the shoulder that play a role in keeping the shoulder joint strong and supported, including the large well known muscles such as the pecs, lats and biceps, but one of the most important muscle groups is (you guessed it) the rotator cuff muscles.
This is because the muscles of the rotator cuff all attach directly into the head of the humerus (the “ball” of the “ball and socket joint”) and are therefore able to “pull” the head of the humerus firmly back into the shoulder joint socket. This is really key as it means that the stronger the rotator cuff is, the more stable the shoulder joint will be - particularly as you start to lift the arm up overhead (which is very often when climbing).
I’m going to cut right to the chase - almost every climber would benefit from regularly exercising their rotator cuff muscles.
Climbing can sometimes be quite an unbalanced sport for our body. When we reach overhead for a hold and pull ourselves up on it, our internal rotators are working hard to keep us on the wall. In comparison, the external rotators have only a supportive role while climbing - they very rarely have to do any of the real hard work.
"Over time, studies have shown that this can lead to a muscular in-balance between our internal and external rotators, which leaves the shoulder feeling weak and vulnerable to injury. So it is my recommendation that all climbers should include some sort of external rotation strengthening exercises as part of their regular antagonist training."
A weak or imbalanced rotator cuff can be the root cause for a variety of different shoulder issues, including instability, shoulder impingement, and rotator cuff tendinopathies. If you find that your shoulders often feel sketchy or unstable while climbing, particularly during “shouldery” moves that require a lot of compression, then there is a good chance that improving your external rotator strength will help.
If you have never done any rotator cuff strengthening work before, then the best place to start is with this standard theraband external rotation exercise.
Tie the band around a pole at about waist height, and then keeping your elbows tucked into your ribs and your shoulders back and down, rotate your arm away from your body. Note that your elbow stays in the same position – it’s just your forearm that is moving. A good way to cue good position here is to imagine a bit of string pulling you tall from the back of your head while trying to keep as much space between your ears and your shoulders.
Tip: If it’s too easy, use a harder band or take a step further away from the pole. If it’s too hard, use an easier band or take a step closer to the pole. You want to be able to complete 15-20 reps for 2-3 sets. Keep this exercise up several days a week for a few weeks until you can feel a really good activation in the rotator cuff muscles of your upper back.
Once you have mastered the first exercise, you are ready to move on to working the external rotators overhead. For this exercise tie the band at about shoulder height.
Stand in the same position as the previous exercise, but this time lift your elbow up to parallel with your shoulder. From here externally rotate the forearm up towards the ceiling.
This exercise is more challenging to complete with good form, but it’s a much closer replication of the position that we are in when climbing. Once again, aim to complete 15-20 reps for 2-3 sets.
Note: There are many other exercises that will help strengthen the external rotators - Face Pulls and YTIs are both great alternatives. Go with whichever exercise you prefer, just make sure you do them regularly! You should aim to train the external rotators 1-3 times per week.
Don’t worry – that’s often the case! It’s likely a combination of two things:
If this is the case, here are two really great supplementary exercises you can also add to your routine to help address tight upper traps and improve your scapula control:
This is a great exercise that will help both improve your control of your scapula and reduce overactive upper trap muscles.
Start by tying the band at about shoulder height, and then pull the band down behind your hips, keeping your arms almost straight.
As you pull down, be sure to engage the muscles between your shoulder blades (think “back and down”) and keep your upper traps (the muscles on the top of your shoulder) relaxed. Complete 15-20 reps for 2-3 sets.
