Shoulder Abduction with Hip Hiking

Elongation exercise in sitting:

• This exercise helps to normalize shoulder abduction by asking the patient to hike up/lift the opposite hip to actively recruit the contralateral quadratus lumborum muscle.
• The patient is sitting on a firm surface with the feet on the floor and is instructed to lift one arm out to side and up toward the ceiling.
• At the same time as they are lifting the arm ask them to lift the opposite hip off the table/chair so that they lengthen the spine on the same side as the arm that is being raised. All of their weight should shift to the side of the pelvis that is directly underneath the raised arm.
• Then they slowly lower their arm and repeat to the opposite side, alternating sides for 6-8 repetitions.
• Tell the patient to try to coordinate raising the arm with lifting the opposite hip so that they occur simultaneously.