Your acromioclavicular joint, or AC joint, is found in your shoulder area. The exact location is where your clavicle, or collarbone, meets your acromion, which is the highest part of your shoulder blade. Pain in your AC joint might be due to a degenerative condition, such as bursitis or arthritis, or an injury to the joint such as a separation. When your AC joint separates, ligaments attached to the underside of the clavicle might be torn, and surgery is sometimes required. Gentle strengthening exercises might help with AC joint pain.
Supine Shoulder Flexion
The supine shoulder flexion exercise is a stretch that might loosen the ligaments surrounding your AC joint. To perform the exercise, grab a broom handle, baseball bat or hockey stick with both hands in an overhanded grip. Lie back on the floor or on a table so you have some room behind your head. Slowly raise the stick over your head with straighten your arms until they are extended back behind your head. Control the movement with your stronger arm and stretch until you feel some slight discomfort, but no actual pain. Hold for 10 to 15 seconds and do the stretch three times.
Wall Shoulder Abduction
Shoulder abduction against a wall is another way to stretch your shoulder and possibly ease your AC pain. Start facing a wall and slowly walk your arm up the wall until it is stretched out above you, but without any pain. Keep your arm in place and slowly turn your body away from the wall until you feel a good stretch in the shoulder. Hold the pose for 10 seconds and do the stretch three times.
Standing Shoulder Flexion
Strengthening the muscles surrounding your AC joint is important to provide support to the joint and reduce pain. For standing shoulder flexion, you have a light 2 to 3 lb. dumbbell in each hand, hanging down by your sides. With your thumbs pointed up and arms straight, slowly lift the dumbbells upward and stop when they are at shoulder height. Lower your arms slowly and do three sets of 10 to 15 reps. If the exercise becomes too easy, increase the number of reps before you increase the weight.
External Shoulder Rotation
External shoulder rotation is a strengthening exercise that might be performed against a static object, such as a wall, or with a light dumbbell or exercise band. To do the exercise against a wall, simply stand beside a wall with your sore shoulder closest to the wall. Bend your arm to 90 degrees and keep your elbow close to your body. Place the back of your hand against the wall and press it in. Hold the contraction for several seconds, then release. You can also do this exercise standing with a resistance band attached to a solid object, or lying on your side with a dumbbell in your top hand. The movement is the same whichever way you perform the exercise.
