Health blog Category: Shoulder Pain
Reaching up or behind uncomfortable?
Ever found that reaching up to get a plate out of the cabinet was painful? Or maybe you feel a pinching in your shoulder when you lift your arms to washing your hair. These are common complaints we hear in the physical therapy world when patients are dealing with some kind of shoulder issue.
Shoulder pain is a very common problem and can cause a lot of difficulty with many daily activities. People frequently come to physical therapy with different complaints involving the shoulder.
Is discomfort making showering or dressing difficult?
By Devin Wurman, DPT
It’s pretty common for different joints to feel sore after repetitive use over even just a short period of time and the shoulder is no exception. Your shoulder is a joint that is very mobile and is made up of multiple muscles, which attach to the bones via tendons. Those muscles and tendons, the rotator cuff, are notorious for getting inflamed and becoming painful with overuse. In addition, as we get older, usually in our 50’s and 60’s, it’s common to find arthritis in the joint.
Is Clicking and Popping in my Shoulders Normal?
Is that clicking and popping in my shoulder normal?
This is a question that physical therapy clinicians hear often at Loudoun Sports Therapy Center. There can be multiple reasons for clicking and popping in the shoulder. The shoulder is a ball and socket joint that is made up of bone, cartilage, ligaments and tendons. The shoulder is capable of multi directional movements, which can also make it very unstable and prone to injury.
Read full blogThis joint can flex, extend, adduct and abduct
The shoulder is probably the most unstable joint in the entire body. The shoulder complex is the only joint in the human body that can perform true ‘circumduction,’ which is a combination of flexion, extension, adduction and abduction. The shoulder is a true ball and socket joint. The ball refers to the humeral head and the socket is the glenoid fossa.
The shoulder complex is help together by ligaments, tendons and muscles. The shoulders’ stability comes from the ligaments and tendons around it and the range of motions comes from the surrounding muscles.
Carrying a bag of groceries uncomfortable?
By: Alyssa Burke, PTA
We often don’t realize how much we move our shoulders throughout our day until we feel pain or are unable to move our shoulders. There are many conditions that may cause us to experience pain, loss of range of motion or stiffness in our shoulders. These problems don’t have to happen following a traumatic injury. Often, shoulder problems occur over time from overuse and repetitive motions, especially overhead motions.
What is the Job of the Rotator Cuff?
What Does a Rotator Cuff Problem Feel Like?
If you have ever had:
- pain
- soreness
- stiffness
- pinching
- cracking
- popping
in your shoulder or in your upper arm, you most likely have had a rotator cuff problem.
If you have ever felt:
- stiffness
- difficulty moving one arm as far as the other
- weakness in your shoulder or arm
you have had a rotator cuff problem.
Read full blogDiscomfort reaching, typing or driving?
By Rachel Herrmann, DPT
The shoulder is a complex region of the body made up of three joints, four muscles of the rotator cuff and over 10 other muscles that attach around the bones/joints that make up the shoulder. This means there has to be a lot of body parts in good working condition in order to have a healthy and happy shoulder.
One common shoulder issue is called impingement. This is when the muscles of the rotator cuff become subjected to repeated pinching in between the rounded head of the humerus bone and the acromion process, a bony prominence from the shoulder blade that forms a roof over top of the ball and socket joint.
Swimming for the First Time Since Last Summer?
This time of year we see more and more patients complaining of shoulder pain and with good reason. Maybe you’ve been swimming for the first time since last summer or you’ve had time to toss the softball with your kids unlike other times of the year. Whatever the reason, shoulder injuries are common reasons people seek physical therapy.
Most shoulder pain occurs following repetitive movements. These cause wear and tear that breaks down the rotator cuff tendons.
Inflammation, Swelling or Weakness in the Upper Body?
Shoulder pain is one of the most common problems we among patients in physical therapy. It’s not just athletes like baseball players or swimmer either; we treat patients of all ages for shoulder problems. This condition can be the result of repetitive overuse of muscles in the shoulder, poor posture or traumatic injury to the shoulder.
Repetitive overuse of muscles can lead to tendinopathy or irritation of the tendons that attach at the shoulder.
Discomfort or Difficulty Reaching Up to Grab Dishes
You’ve probably just spend the past month or so sprucing up your garden, putting mulch out around your home, and/or performing other projects while the weather was a bit more tolerable. Now it’s summer, and you get to look at all of the sweat equity that you just finished putting in. You may also notice that your shoulder is talking to you.
It’s pretty common that different joints become sore after repetitive use over a short period of time. The shoulder is no exception. Your shoulder is a joint that is very mobile and is made up of multiple muscles which attach to the bones via tendons. Those muscles and tendons, the rotator cuff, are notorious for getting inflamed and becoming painful with overuse. In addition, as we get older, usually in our 50’s and 60’s, it is common to find arthritis in the joint. This is just from “wear and tear” over time. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Is it painful to reach overhead into the kitchen cabinet or to change a light bulb?
