A national-level badminton player in her mid-twenties came to me with shoulder pain every time she smashed. She had a painful arc when she lifted her arm, and pain when she rotated it outward. My assessment pointed to rotator cuff tendinopathy.
Badminton shoulder pain like this is usually an overuse problem, and in her case it was. But overuse was only the trigger. Underneath it, her shoulder blade was not moving the way it should, and that is what kept the pain going.
What causes badminton shoulder pain?
Badminton asks the shoulder to do the same overhead action again and again. Every smash and every clear loads the rotator cuff tendons, and a shoulder that is prepared for that volume copes. A shoulder that is not prepared starts to hurt.
Her story shows how that happens. She had been away from the game for some time. As a competition got close, she came back and trained far more than usual, with a lot of smashes in a short period. Her shoulder had not been built up for that jump in load, and the tendon reacted.
If your shoulder pain started after a break from playing, or after a sudden increase in practice, this is the pattern I look for first.
What did I find when I assessed her?
Three things. A painful arc as she raised her arm. Pain with external rotation. And a little pain on the biceps side of the shoulder.
When I watched how her shoulder blades moved, I found scapular dyskinesia. That was the finding that explained why a player with her level of training had ended up with a tendon problem.
What is scapular dyskinesia and why does it cause rotator cuff pain?
Your shoulder blade, the scapula, is the base your arm moves from. When the scapular muscles control it well, the arm moves smoothly and the load is shared across the shoulder.
In her case the shoulder blade was not moving with the control and force it should. That meant the rotator cuff tendons were absorbing stress that the scapular muscles should have been sharing. Add a large number of smashes on top of that, and the tendon is overloaded very quickly.
Scapular dyskinesis is well documented in overhead athletes, which is why I assess the shoulder blade every time and not only the painful tendon. This is why treating only the painful spot often fails. The tendon hurts, but the cause sits in how the shoulder blade is working around it.
How do you rehab badminton shoulder pain caused by rotator cuff tendinopathy?
We built her programme in stages, and each stage had to be earned before moving to the next.
First, the muscles that control the shoulder blade. We focused on the scapular muscles and the serratus anterior, using prone exercises and external rotation with a resistance band.
Second, higher ranges. Once she had control, we progressed to scaption and overhead strengthening, so the shoulder could handle the positions badminton actually demands.
Third, sport-specific work. We added perturbation drills, then shadow swings, then moved from planned drills to unplanned rallies, and finally to a lot of smashes. The aim was a full range of motion and a shoulder that stayed comfortable during a match, not just in the clinic.
How long does it take to return to badminton after a shoulder injury?
For her, the whole journey, from rehab through training to a full return to competition, took around six to eight months. She played the competition and won gold at the All India level. She won it again the following year, which tells me the shoulder held up across a second full season and was not just patched for one event.
That was her timeline. It depends on the person, how irritated the tendon is, and how well the shoulder blade control is rebuilt. A tendon problem in an elite player is rarely a matter of a few weeks, and a return that is rushed is how it comes back. Take it as a reasonable reference point, not a promise.
What this means if your shoulder hurts when you smash
Ask yourself a few things. Did the pain start after a break from playing, or after a sudden jump in practice? Has anyone looked at how your shoulder blade moves, or only at the spot that hurts? Does your rehab include overhead strengthening and unplanned, game-like drills, or only band exercises?
If the answer to any of those is no, a proper assessment is worth getting before the pain turns into a bigger problem.
I see badminton and other racket sport players with shoulder pain in Saket, South Delhi. If your shoulder hurts when you smash and you want to know why, WhatsApp me at +91 92893 03555.
For a broader look at telling shoulder problems apart: Frozen Shoulder, Rotator Cuff, Impingement. How I Actually Tell Them Apart
For a more serious shoulder case that ended with a return to sport: He Needed Surgery on Both Shoulders. He Was a Competitive Wrestler. He Came Back.
For another overhead sport where the repeated action is the problem: Why Cricket Injuries Keep Coming Back and What the Bowling Action Actually Does to the Body
Dr. Manvi Dhyani, PT holds an MPT in Sports Physiotherapy from Jamia Millia Islamia and is a registered physiotherapist with the Delhi Council for Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy (Reg. TPR-2666). She has worked as a team physiotherapist with the Central Reserve Police Force, completed international field postings with ProHealth Asia across four countries, and served as physiotherapist for India’s national archery team at the 2021 World Archery Youth Championships in Wroclaw, Poland. She practices in Saket, New Delhi.
Dr. Manvi Dhyani is a qualified physiotherapist (MPT Sports Physiotherapy, Jamia Millia Islamia; Registered Physiotherapist, Delhi Council for Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Reg. TPR-2666). The title Dr. is used in accordance with her doctoral-level physiotherapy qualification and does not denote a registered medical practitioner under the NMC Act, 2020.
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