Health blog Category: 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?
Head into Summer without Shoulder Pain!
Memorial Day has passed and pools are open signalling the unofficial start for summer for a lot of folks. Many children and teens in this area are getting ready to start, if they haven’t already, swim team practices and meets. So it’s timely to talk about shoulder injuries and make sure you and your kids know how to prevent pain and injury so you can enjoy your summer.
Not too surprising, shoulder pain is the most frequent orthopedic injury among swimmers.
Difficulty lifting weights, groceries or the kids?
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. The number one complaint: pain in and around the joint that in turn radiates up into the neck or down the arm. Some people also experience stiffness in the shoulder which causes difficulty moving the joint or overall weakness in the shoulder which can extend down into the hand.
Read full blogDo you perform lots of repetitive movements each day?
By Angie Austin, LPTA
Shoulder issues like pain and weaknesses are some of the most common reasons people seek help from a physical therapist. The design of the shoulder is a ball and socket joint. The rounded head of the humerus articulates with the cup like depression of the scapula, giving it a wide degree of movement. That’s why the shoulder is often easily injured. This joint is held together by an extensive group of muscles and ligaments that can be weakened by certain repetitive movements.
Is Putting on a Shirt Difficult?
By: Mike Bills, MS PT
The rotator cuff is responsible for the rotation and movement of the entire shoulder joint and all of your arm.
WHAT DOES A ROTATOR CUFF PROBLEM FEEL LIKE?
If you have ever had pain, soreness, stiffness, pinching, cracking or 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.
Planning to Hit the Pool this Summer?
Are you planning to hit the pool this summer? Swimmers’ shoulder is a very broad term used to refer to a wide range of painful overuse injuries that occur in swimmers. There are various parts of the shoulder that can be injured due to swimming stroke so symptoms can be anything from localized pain near the shoulder joint, to pain that spreads and travels up your shoulder and neck or pain that travels down into your arm.
Read full blogTrouble lifting your arms to wash your hair?
By: Cierra Washington ATC
“My shoulder is killing me! I can’t even get my arm up to wash my hair!” Shoulder pain is one of the most common complaints we hear in the physical therapy world from patients. Whether the pain is sharp and stabbing, or full and achy, it causes the person a significant amount of discomfort and inability to perform their everyday activities. So what causes shoulder pain in the first place?
Read full blogMuscle Discomfort Throwing Off Workouts
We probably take for granted how mobile or shoulders are until we are unable to move them as freely because of pain or tightness or discomfort. Have you ever tried to pull your shirt on in the morning and felt a pinch in the shoulder? 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 such as a car crash or falling on an outstretched arm.
Read full blogDifficulty Reaching, Lifting or Throwing
By: Rachel Herrmann, DPT
Difficulty reaching, lifting or throwing? The shoulder is a common region in which people complain of pain. It can often be a confusing region to have pain, too. Some people describe their shoulder pain along the top of their shoulder to their neck. Some people have shoulder pain around their shoulder blade. Others describe their shoulder pain along the front of their shoulder or the top of their shoulder or the back of the shoulder or radiating down the shoulder to arm, elbow and even all the way to the hand at times.
What is Shoulder Tendonitis?
By Misha Gilani, DPT
Shoulder tendonitis is a very common problem for every age group and one we treat often at Loudoun Sports Therapy Center. Tendonitis is inflammation of the tendon that attaches the muscle to the bone. With respect to the shoulder, the muscles that are most frequently inflamed are your rotator cuff and bicep tendon. Our patients will typically complain about pain along the front of the shoulder. Patients often complaint of pain with overhead activities, lifting items, reaching behind their back or pain when washing their hair.
