Lie on your back, grip a stick in both hands and raise it over your chest and back toward the floor behind your head, with the easier arm doing most of the lifting (assisted range of motion). Lying flat makes it harder to arch your back or shrug to get higher, so this version often suits a very stiff or sore shoulder that struggles in sitting or standing.

How to do the lying shoulder flexion with a stick

Lie on your back on a mat or bed with your legs straight. Bending your knees is fine if your back feels better that way.
Rest the stick across your thighs, palms down, hands roughly shoulder width apart.
Keep both elbows straight and use the easier arm to lift the stick up over your chest.
Carry on past the vertical, letting the stick travel back over your head toward the floor as far as is comfortable.
Bring it back up and over, slowly, until it rests on your thighs again.

What you should feel

A stretch in the shoulder and along the side of the chest and upper back near the top of the movement, usually strongest on the stiffer side.

Common mistakes

Letting the stiff arm do the lifting. The easier arm leads, and the stiff arm goes along with it.
Arching the lower back off the mat as the stick goes overhead.
Letting the stick drop quickly toward the floor behind your head.

How often

Many programs start with about 10 slow lifts, done 1 to 3 times a day, adding a few more as the movement eases. Reaching a little further counts for more than extra repetitions. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Sharp pain or a pinching catch as the stick goes overhead, or pain or pins and needles running down the arm.
Pins and needles in your arm or hand that do not go away after you stop, or part of your arm or hand goes numb. Get medical advice the same day. If one side of your face or body suddenly goes numb or weak, or your speech becomes slurred or muddled, call emergency services, even if it goes away.
A sudden pop or tearing feeling in the shoulder that brings sharp pain, new weakness or trouble lifting the arm. Stop and contact your surgical team the same day, or get medical advice the same day if you have not had surgery.
The shoulder feels as if it has slipped out of place, looks a different shape or suddenly locks so you cannot move the arm, or your hand turns cold, pale or blue. Go to an emergency department straight away, without driving yourself, and do not try to put the shoulder back in yourself.

From the clinic

After shoulder surgery, including a rotator cuff repair, or after a shoulder fracture or dislocation, follow your surgeon's or physio's plan, and do only the movements and range they have cleared. Many plans allow only passive movement at first, where the arm is moved for you and its muscles stay relaxed. Because the stiff arm still holds the stick, this counts as assisted movement, and it can ask a little effort from the muscles of that shoulder. After a repair, ask whether it is on your plan yet, and whether that arm should stay fully relaxed while the other one lifts.

Once the stick passes the point straight above your chest, the weight of your arms starts to pull it down, so slow down there rather than letting it fall. A folded towel under your head can make the start more comfortable. If you are pregnant and past the first three months, check with your physio before exercising flat on your back. Once this gets easy, most people move on to shoulder flexion with a stick in sitting or standing, and shoulder abduction with a stick works on lifting the arm out to the side.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Lying shoulder flexion with a stick