The muscles described in the chest stretches section also play a major role in shoulder stretches, so feel free to look at those stretches as well.
Furthermore, some of the muscles that are part of the shoulder overlap with the back and neck.
Shoulder muscles can be placed into three groups:
The four muscles involved in the rotator cuff muscles are called this because they form a musculocutaneous cuff around the glenohumeral (GH) joint. These reinforce the fibrous layer of the joint capsule of the GH joint, as well as help with movements. They help provide stability to a joint that produces a large amount of movement.
Almost all of the rotator cuff muscles help with the rotation of the arm, except for the supraspinatus. The supraspinatus muscle helps the deltoid with the first 15° of abduction of the arm.
The shoulder joint has the ability to move in a large range of motion and relies on the rotator cuff muscles to keep it stable. It is important to be gentle with your joint when performing these shoulder stretches.
The benefits of stretching is to: