The Made 2 Move Podcast · Hannah Breal - Physical Therapist

How to Return to Lifting After a Rotator Cuff Tear

March 9, 2026·26 min·1 clip

Exercise is generally the first recommended line of treatment, not automatic surgery, for rotator cuff tears.

Fear is the first problem. The host pushes back on the usual advice to stop running, stop lifting, and stop moving, especially when movement is often part of the way back. Okay, so clarity matters here. A rotator cuff tear is not treated like a life sentence. It is a shoulder problem that needs the right starting point. Overhead lifting may need a detour, but that does not mean it is banned. The host explains how a modified version can keep similar muscles working while taking pressure off irritated tissue. Pain below three is the guardrail. That means the lift feels tolerable during the set, after the workout, and over the next couple of days. That starting point matters because it lets the shoulder keep doing useful work while the plan gets more specific about what needs stress and what needs a break. Movements are not automatically gone forever. Unless something is basically slamming the shoulder into a corridor, the better question is what capacity the person has earned today. Feeling better is not the same as jumping from zero kipping pull-ups to eighty. Volume and intensity still have to climb slowly. The host warns that total rest, rushing into injections, or grinding through sharp pain can make the comeback messier. Capacity threshold and tolerance threshold give the flare-ups some logic. John's story brings it down to earth: he gets back in the gym, keeps doing the shoulder work, and trains normally again.

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