.....Any ideas how we can stretch this area at home without including her lower back too much?.......
Exercise #1.... Have her sit in a high back chair and get positioned where her back is supported about 6 inches below the top of her shoulders, and pad that area with a pillow. While in this position she should try to keep her mid back against the back of the chair (or the pillow) while doing the following motion with resistance provided by a helpful friend, parent, or coach.....
Start with arms straight and held horizontal in front with hands at shoulder width. The helper will hold her arms and pull them up to her ears and beyond until she feels a challenging stretch that isn't to the point of pain. She should then push forward to signal she's hit the stretch point and the helper allows her to push her arms back to the starting position. Do 10 to 15 repetitions.
Exercise #2.... Have her put her right arm behind her head with her elbow bent as if she was trying scratch the back of her left shoulder. The helper stands behind and to the right, puts their right hand on her elbow, and then gently pushes her elbow toward her left shoulder. When she feels the challenging but painless stretch she should push back against the helper's resistance and keep pushing until her right elbow is level with her shoulder, and then the helper moves her arm back to the starting position while she lightly resists all the way to the point of feeling the challenging stretch. Do 10 to 15 repetitions.
This muscles used for the motion in this exercise are extremely weak, the helper should not expect her to move through the motion with much force. She should control how much pressure the helper provides by moving slower for less pressure and faster for more. So if she moves slow the pressure should be reduced, and if she moves fast it's a signal she can push against more resistance.
Both exercises rely on repetitions to fatigue the muscles while strengthening them at the extreme end of the motion. The notion that some is good, more is better, and too much is enough should not come into play. The exerecises should be considered as exercises done well within her strength resources and, just like any new exercise, the frequency and numbers should start low and increase over the span of 15 days. Start out with one set of 10 to 15 done very other day for the first six day interval. Go to a two day on/one day off schedule for the next nine days. Add a second set if she feels nothing more than tired or sore muscles. Expect some mild muscle soreness in the areas that work to move her arms. Stop doing the exercises if she has and pain in area between (and including) the acromioclavicular joint and greater tubercle.
