By Misha Gilani, DPT
Shoulder pain is a very common problem for every age group and one we treat often at Loudoun Sports Therapy Center. Our patients who come to us for shoulder discomfort will typically complain about pain along the front of the shoulder, which, can radiate down the arm and into the fingers. Shoulder patients often have pain and difficulty with overhead activities, lifting, reaching behind their back or washing their hair. So you can see that even what starts as relatively minor pain can make simple, everyday tasks difficult to perform because of pain and limited range of motion. It’s why we always recommend that folks address shoulder discomfort sooner than later.
When we ignore something like shoulder pain, it can start causing other more serious problems up and down the chain. It can lead to general arm pain as well as pain in the neck. The majority of patients with shoulder pain also suffer from headaches. That’s because the pattern of shoulder muscles and shoulder stability has a signification effect on the stability of the cervical area. So when one thing isn’t addressed, there is a trickle down, or up, effect of pain and discomfort. cervical stability. The good news, however, is that shoulder pain is something that can be easily resolved with physical therapy. A physical therapist can determine what is causing your pain or dysfunction so you can understand how to correct the problem and treat the symptoms.
So what causes shoulder pain? This condition can stem from several factors but common ones include:
- Poor posture
- Poor ergonomics when sitting at a desk, standing or driving
- Poor lifting techniques
- Weakness
- Degeneration
- Muscle strain or tear
- Poor technique when exercising; There are main shoulder exercises that can be performed to help your shoulder pain however if done incorrectly can cause pain/dysfunction or further aggravate the shoulder pain.
Physical therapy is a very effective treatment method to relieve shoulder pain. Through targeted strengthening exercises and stretching and manual, hands-on therapy, physical therapy will help improve joint mobility and posture to help relieve your pain. Physical therapy will also decrease muscle tightness and improve shoulder stability. All of these improvements will decrease pain and inflammation. With physical therapy intervention, it can help restore your quality of life and return you to your prior level of function.
