The Rotator Cuff

Ah, the rotator cuff! A set of four muscles, that I hear a lot of people talk about, and hear a lot of people talk about injuring, and even having surgery on.

So, what exactly is the rotator cuff?
As mentioned, the rotator cuff is made up of four muscles in the shoulder, which work both individually, and together.

What are these four muscles?
They are the Suprasinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres minor and the subscapularis – collectively they are the SITS muscles.

What do these muscles do?
Supraspinatus – raise the arm overhead.
Infraspinatus – externally rotate the shoulder joint.
Teres minor – works with the infraspinatus to externally rotate the the shoulder.
Subscapularis – internally rotate the shoulder joint.

Collectively, these muscles work to maintain your shoulder position when static and in dynamic movements. In addition, they allow the shoulder joint to move smoothly and fluidly.

How do we strengthen the rotator cuff? 
There are numerous exercises to choose from to strengthen your rotator cuff.
Here are just a few (click on the exercises to see a demonstration):

Isolated shoulder strength exercises:
• External rotation with cable
• Internal rotation with cable
• Wall crawl with external rotation

Compound exercises:
• Face pull (can be considered an isolation or compound exercise)
• Inverted rows
• Turkish get up