Hi FitGaf, it's been awhile but I have injured my right shoulder doing heavy OHP a few weeks ago. I have laid low on shoulders for some time now and it's helped but believe I have slightly injured the rotator cuff.
I can lift my arms just fine, but some angles have a very slight pain. If I pinch the front or back of the shoulder then there is more pain.
What are some good exercises (light) that I can do to strengthen it? thanks!
I would say any rotator cuff exercises with really silly light weights - like 3 lbs. The hardest part of doing them is not engaging the delt so you have to learn to keep the lever portion of the weight at your elbow by resting it against your hip.
You can lay on your side with your arm at a 90 degree, elbow tucked into your hip and perform forearm only raises like you are swinging your arm up, keeping your elbow tucked at your side to carry the weight.
Similarly, for greater ROM, use a cable at elbow height, pull from across your body outward, again with your arm at a 90 degree angle perpendicular to your body and using your hip as the lever for your elbow.
If you pulled a non-beach muscle in your shoulder these will help. If you created an impingement and pinched a nerve or tendon, your only hope is time.
To alleviate some pain during regular exercise, maintain proper thoracic extension when working shoulders - this will increase the amount of rotation allowed inside the cuff to prevent impingement. Having slightly lurched shoulders will lower your ability to rotate out and up during exercises and can cause further injury.
Check out some rotator cuff exercises and explanations on YouTube from some physical therapists. They can explain the cuff's natural range better than I can and show you how slight posture adjustments help allow for a wider range of motion without creating impingement.
