Rotator cuffs are the often neglected, often forgot, yet essential structure within the shoulder. Weak or dysfunctional rotator cuffs are often the source of many shoulder injuries that may result in delayed injury periods, and as such should be trained just like any other part of the body. Let's have a look at what the rotator cuff is, what it does, and how to train it.
Anatomy
The rotator cuff is actually a group of 4 muscles:
- Supraspinatus
- Infraspinatus
- Teres minor
- Subscapularis
The supraspinatus is located on top of the shoulder and inserts onto the humeral head, and so works to abduct the arm, i.e. lift it up (similar to the deltoid. The infraspinatus is located posteriorly to the scapula and also inserts onto the humeral head, and so externally rotates the shoulder. The teres minor is also located posteriorly to the scapula and so has the same action of external rotation. Finally, the subscapularis is rotated anteriorly to the scapula and so internally rotates the humerus.
Who cares?
The rotator cuff is an extremely important stabiliser for the shoulders. It is responsible for preventing the deltoids and other large, strong muscles from dislocating or subluxing the humeral head from its shoulder socket otherwise known as the glenoid cavity. Without the rotator cuffs doing their thing, your shoulder would be pulled straight out of the socket by your shoulder muscles, such as the deltoids that sit right on top.
The picture below illustrates how the contraction of the rotator cuffs maintain shoulder stability by pulling the humeral head into the shoulder socket and keeping it stable. You can see that without these nifty little muscles your shoulder would be in a world of hurt.
Strengthening
There are plenty of strengthening exercises available to ensure the rotator cuff are working properly. Often people train their shoulder muscles, such as the deltoid group, quite hard, and forget to train the rotator cuff. This results in an imbalance where the rotator cuff is not strong enough to work against the pulling action of the deltoids, resulting in impingement of the underlying tendons and other structures within the shoulder, and ultimately pain. Below are some exercises you can do to make sure your shoulder stays strong and healthy. I recommend doing these exercises towards the end of a shoulder workout, as fatiguing the rotator cuff at the beginning of a workout may lead to poor form and injury. That being said, some light warmup weight of the below exercises at the beginning of your workout would be fine.
I recommend watching the below video for a really good overview of some rotator cuff exercises!
Exercises and Stretches
