Shoulder Pain
Don’t Let Shoulder Pain Stop You From Living Your Life
Living With Shoulder Pain? We Can Help!
We use our shoulders for almost every movement we make, so if they bother us, it’s a big deal! There are many reasons why someone may experience pain in the shoulder, and the severity of pain may range from temporary discomfort in the pulled muscle to agonizing bone-on-bone arthritic friction.
Sometimes you just can’t get through a day without feeling the pain in your shoulder and neck. It may show up as a result of injury, making you feel like your shoulder is immobile.
Shoulder pain can take many forms – it can appear when you reach toward the top shelf to put away dishes or when you’re struggling to find a comfortable sleeping position.
Whatever may be the cause of your shoulder pain, Total Body Physical Therapy is dedicated to offering you natural pain management methods. Schedule an appointment at our Sarasota physical therapy clinic today to learn more about our different treatment methods for shoulder pain.
Why physical therapy is better than surgery
Those who have rotator cuff injuries or “torn shoulders” generally report dull pain deep in their shoulders, weakness in their arms, difficulty reaching behind their backs, and troubled sleep due to pain.
Depending on the severity and situation, surgery is sometimes needed, but often proper physical therapy can help reduce pain and restore strength to the rotator cuff to compensate for partial tears. Physical therapy is an integral part of rehabilitation for full recovery if surgery is needed.
According to the American Physical Therapy Association, “A recent study from Finland asserts that when it comes to the treatment of nontraumatic rotator cuff tears, physical therapy alone produces results equal to those produced by arthroscopic surgery and open surgical repair.”
At Total Body Physical Therapy, our natural and non-invasive methods can help relieve pain in your shoulder and heal rotator cuff injuries.
What can I expect from PT treatments for my shoulder pain?
Physical therapy is a natural, easy, and comfortable way to find relief for pain in the shoulder without the need for harmful drugs or invasive surgery. Our Sarasota physical therapists have treated a number of conditions that lead to pain in the shoulder, with patients finding improvement and relief after just a few short sessions.
Physical therapists are movement experts who are trained to identify the cause of your pain through a variety of diagnostic tests and methods.
During your assessment, we will examine your range of motion, strength, coordination, medical history, joint mobility, and joint motion mechanics.
Once our physical therapist has determined the cause of your shoulder pain, they can create a specialized combination of PT methods to manage and relieve your pain.
Your treatment plan will involve gentle manual therapy that helps to restore normal joint movement, ease soft tissue restrictions, and promote circulation. It will also include specific therapeutic exercises to restore strength and a proper sequence of muscle activation around the shoulder joint.
Another benefit of physical therapy is that you will learn new ways to move your body to enhance your strength and prevent future shoulder problems from recurring.
The importance of functioning shoulders
The shoulder is a “ball-and-socket” joint, which means the head of the upper arm bone, or “humerus,” fits perfectly into the corresponding space within the shoulder blade or “scapula.” The ends of the bone are protected by a thick layer of cartilage, which prevents the bones from causing friction.
Fluid-filled bags called “bursae” also protect tendons from rubbing against bones. The tendons attach the bones in the shoulder to a set of bones known as the rotator cuff.
Your shoulders are capable of performing many physical feats. In fact, the shoulders have the widest range of all the joints in your body! However, the possibilities of pain and discomfort also come with their complexities.
The type of pain you feel in your shoulder may vary depending on what causes it. Pain from impingement, for example, usually occurs when you raise your arm, beginning at a certain point in the range of motion.
Pain from a degenerated shoulder may cause persistent aches every time you move your arm in certain directions. Acute injuries can result in sudden and intense pain, making it impossible for you to move your shoulder.
If something goes wrong with the intricacies that make up the mechanical interplay of the shoulder, pain may be an unfortunate result.
What’s causing my shoulder pain?
Some of the most common causes of shoulder pain include:
Arthritis
The two main forms of arthritis that affect the shoulder are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Both of these result in loss of motion, weakness to the shoulder muscles, and difficulty performing normal, daily tasks.
Rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the immune system decides to attack the membranes surrounding the shoulder joint, resulting in pain and inflammation.
Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage in the shoulder joint experiences significant “wear and tear,” typically due to age or excessive overuse.
Impingement
Impingement typically occurs because of abnormal movement and tracking of the humeral head as you lift your arm overhead.
Pain typically occurs when lifting your arm at or above 90 degrees.
Frozen shoulder
Frozen shoulder results in a painful loss of motion in the shoulder with a tightening of the shoulder joint that severely limits motion. It is also known as “adhesive capsulitis.”
This condition can occur if your arm has been in a cast or sling for a while, or if you have been bedridden for an extended period of time. It may also come on for no apparent reason, when the shoulder seems to tighten and become painful without any specific incident.
Some ethnicities are more predisposed, and women from 40-60 years of age tend to have more instances of this condition than men.
Tendinitis
Tendinitis occurs when the shoulder joint is excessively overused typically due to the physical demands of a person’s job, overhead activity, or sport.
Another factor for tendinitis is also poor posture because this alters the normal forces on the tendons, and can set you up for tendon injury.
This causes the tendons to undergo ongoing inflammation, resulting in swelling and painful impingement when raising your arm.
Say goodbye to shoulder pain once and for all
Shoulder pain may be controlling your life, but it doesn’t have to! Our Sarasota physical therapy practice will get you the help you need to start doing the things you love once again without pain.
