The Codman exercise is an exercise that’s been around for a long time, and it’s designed to to help the shoulder remember that it’s supposed to move.
It’s a very basic exercise and I’m going to demonstrate two forms of it today: the passive and the active.
The basics of the Codman exercise is to find a bench or a table and to lean over- I’ll be demonstrating the Codman exercise with my left arm here during the passive form. The arm stays completely relaxed, and the body moves swinging the arm underneath the body like a pendulum (and that is why these exercises are called pendulum exercises)
During the active form the body stays still, but the arm moves in circles being driven by the shoulder muscles. This is called the active form. Now these both of these forms are to be done all throughout the day. Again the idea is to help the shoulder remember that it’s still supposed to move, even after an injury or after a surgery. Which form you’ll be put on, whether it’s the passive or the active, will be dependent on what type of injury you had, and what stage of healing you’re at.