Snow Angels

To restore full shoulder flexion and abduction:

• The patient is lying on their back with their hips and knees bent and feet resting flat on the floor. Their arms are at their sides with palms up.
• Ask the patient to slowly bring the arms up along the floor keeping the shoulders and the backs of the hands always in contact with the floor.
• They only raise the arms up as far as they can as long as they maintain contact with the floor.
• If either hand or shoulder rises off the floor, the patient is told to stop and drop the arms back down a little. Then reach out with the arm on the restricted side to provide a longitudinal stretch before returning the arms back to the sides.
• They repeat 3-5 times trying to bring the arms further up each time.
• Goal: be able to sweep the arms along the floor with the shoulders and backs of the hands maintaining contact with the floor and the hands able to touch overhead.