If you find it easy.If you can complete your whole program without challenge. If you do not have any flare ups.

Progress – Increase the weight and/or increase the repetitions. If you have only recently progressed. If you feel there is still a challenge, but your pain does not worsen.

Maintain – You might need a bit longer doing what you’re doing. If you find it too difficult. If your pain is worsening. If you lose good technique/movement pattern.

Regress – Reduce the load. Reduce the repetitions. Reduce the depth/angle of the movement(s).

It is okay to push into some discomfort during your exercise programme. This is because we are pushing the muscles and soft tissues to adapt to a new stress or strain. Aim to avoid causing pain that does not settle back to baseline within 24 hours. Pain does not mean you have caused damage; it is often your body letting you know that you have challenged it.


When exercising with an injury, it is often thought that pain equals harm. This is not necessarily true.We often use a 0-10 scale to grade how bad the pain is that you are experiencing.

This graphic shows this as a traffic light system.When you are completing your exercises consider how the pain feels.

0-3 or green is regarded as a safe zone and activity should continue.

4-5 or orange is an acceptable level of discomfort to be feeling when exercising and is safe to continue with and should settle within 24 hours of stopping.

6-10 or the red zone is seen as too much and you should think about modifying the exercise, reducing the weight being used or avoiding that exercise all together and trying again the next day.

Staying active during injury will not do harm, it is important to be aware of what is considered reasonable. If the worsening pain persists for a few days after exercise please consult your physiotherapist or healthcare professional.

Flare ups of pain are a common part of the recovery process. Be reassured, this is a temporary increase in pain that will often improve with rest and by gradually resuming your activities. Using ice packs or a warm pack can help to reduce pain and inflammation. Try these, covered in a thin towel for 15 minutes, a few times per day. Sometimes you may need pain relief to help your pain to settle. You should discuss this with your GP or pharmacist if you have any questions.

One of the most common questions we get asked is “Does getting pain when exercising mean I am causing damage?”

For the most part, no it does not. This simple guide can be useful to determine what the safe level of pain is when doing your rehab.

More information can be found here.

• Promotes healing
• Strengthens your muscles and tendons
• Increases your confidence and trust in your shoulder
• Reduces your pain and fear to move
• Builds your capacity and tolerance for activity
• Helps you return to living a full and busy life once more

Tears of the rotator cuff are very common and are a normal part of the ageing process. Most rotator cuff tears do not cause any pain or problem.

The rotator cuff tendons are all connected to create a large broad flat structure around the top of your arm bone, rather like a blanket. So when one tendon is torn, you can picture it like a hole in this blanket. A hole in a blanket doesn’t mean a blanket becomes useless, and this is the same for a tear in your rotator cuff.

Exercises strengthen the rest of the blanket to compensate for this ‘hole’ and are very safe to do. Exercise will reduce your pain and fear as well as improve your function.