In shoulder pulley flexion, you sit with your back to a door and an over-door pulley above and behind you. Pulling down on one handle with your easier arm raises the stiff arm forward and up over your head (assisted range of motion). It lets a stiff shoulder move further than it will lift on its own.

How to do the shoulder pulley flexion

Fit the pulley over the top of a door, shut the door firmly and give the rope a tug to check the anchor holds. Put a firm chair just in front of the door and sit tall with your back to it.
Hold one handle in each hand, palms facing down, with both arms reaching forward at about shoulder height as in the video. If the stiff arm will not come up that far, start with it lower.
Pull the easier arm slowly down and back until the hand is beside your hip. This draws the stiff arm forward and up over your head, with the elbow straight.
Stop at a comfortable stretch and pause for a moment.
Let the easier arm rise again slowly, so the stiff arm comes back down with control. Keep your trunk still the whole time.

What you should feel

Close to the top you should feel a stretch around the front, underside and back of the shoulder, while the easier arm does the work. The stiff arm should feel as if it is being carried.

Common mistakes

Lifting with the stiff arm instead of letting the rope carry it.
Leaning back or arching your back to get the arm higher.
Yanking the rope. Slow, smooth pulls are kinder to a sore shoulder.
Hunching the stiff shoulder toward your ear at the top.

How often

A typical range is 10 to 15 slow pulls, once to 3 times a day, with a short pause at the top of each. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Sharp pain, pain that climbs with every pull, or tingling and pins and needles in the arm or hand.
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. Many rotator cuff repair programs count pulley work as assisted rather than passive movement and bring it in later, because the shoulder muscles work more on a pulley than when a helper moves the arm for you. If it is on your plan, pull only with the easier arm. The operated arm stays limp and gets carried up and down by the rope.

In the video the arms take turns, one pull for each side. If only one shoulder is stiff, do all the pulls with the easier arm, so the rope always lifts the stiff one.

Use a pulley made to hang over a door, with its anchor sitting on top of a solid door that is fully closed and opens away from you, so pulling presses it shut. Lock the door if you can, and tell others at home, so nobody opens it while you are pulling. Look over the rope and handles for wear before each session. With no pulley at home, shoulder flexion with a stick or lying shoulder flexion with a stick moves the arm in the same direction.

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.

Shoulder pulley flexion