Standing shoulder extension strengthens the muscles that take your arm backward, using only the weight of the arm. You stand tall with your arms hanging at your sides, move one straight arm back behind you, hold it for a few seconds and lower it again. It needs no equipment, and physios often use it early in shoulder rehab, once the arm can move under its own power without much pain.

How to do the standing shoulder extension

Stand tall with your weight even on both feet and both arms hanging straight down beside you, palms turned toward your thighs.
Settle your shoulders gently back and down so they are not rounded forward, and look straight ahead.
Keeping the elbow straight, move the working arm back behind you in a slow, smooth arc. In the video the hand finishes a short way behind the buttock.
Hold the arm there for a few seconds, breathing normally, while your trunk stays upright. Do not tip forward to get the arm further back.
Bring the arm forward again slowly until it hangs beside you, pause, and repeat.

What you should feel

Work at the back of the shoulder and down the side of your back below the armpit. A mild stretch across the front of the shoulder at the end of the lift is common.

Common mistakes

Bending forward at the waist or hips, which makes the arm look higher without the shoulder doing more.
Bending the elbow as the arm goes back.
Letting the shoulder roll forward or hitch up toward your ear at the end of the lift.
Swinging the arm back fast and letting it drop.

How often

Many programs use 1 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 lifts with a hold of 3 to 10 seconds at the back, done once or twice a day. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

A sharp pain or pinch at the front of the shoulder as the arm goes back.
Pain, pins and needles or numbness spreading down your arm or into your 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

The voice guide gives one warning, and it is about leaning forward. People drift into it without noticing, because a small tip of the trunk lets the hand travel further back while the shoulder itself does no more. Most shoulders only go a modest way behind the body. Forcing it gains nothing. The voice guide has you work the weaker arm, and many programs then do the other side too.

Once the lift feels easy, some programs add a light weight in the hand, such as 0.5 to 1 kg (1 to 2 lb), or move on to a band. If moving the arm still hurts, isometric shoulder extension works the same muscles with the arm pressing back into a wall and staying still. Prone shoulder extension lifts both arms from a face-down position, and the straight-arm band pulldown finishes in a similar spot just behind the hip.

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. Moving the arm back past your side is often limited in the early weeks after some operations, such as a shoulder replacement or a repair at the front of the shoulder, so check it is on your plan before you start.

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.

Standing shoulder extension