Tips to Help Alleviate and Prevent Shoulder Pain
By
Pat Stanziano, MPT, Hons BSc Kin
Registered Physiotherapist
Certified McKenzie MDT Provider (MICanada)
Diploma Sport Physiotherapy (Canada)
Registered Int’l Sport Physical Therapist (IFSPT)
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (NSCA)
Do you notice your shoulder is waking you up at night? Are you having difficulty reaching or lifting overhead? At Leaps and Bounds: Performance Rehabilitation in Oakville ON, one of our practitioners – a physiotherapist, chiropractor, or athletic therapist – can help you figure out what is causing your shoulder pain and how to resolve it, so you can use your arm again and get a good night’s rest!
The shoulder joint is formed where the upper arm bone (i.e. humerus) fits into the shoulder blade (i.e. scapula). It is known as a ball and socket joint. The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons surrounding the shoulder joint. The job of these muscles is, primarily, to stabilize the ball in the socket, while also lending some help to help move the arm.
The most commonly blamed structure that causes shoulder pain is the rotator cuff. But sometimes appearances can be deceiving and the pain you experience in one area may be actually caused by a condition occurring somewhere else.
At Leaps and Bounds: Performance Rehabilitation, our therapists can help identify the cause of your shoulder pain and the steps needed to resolve it. Request an appointment today, and let us help you get your arm moving again!
Conditions that cause shoulder pain
The shoulder is one of the most mobile joints in the body, allowing us to use our arms in various ways, including reaching, pushing, pulling, lifting, and throwing. The complexity of movement requires the neck and upper back (i.e., spine), the shoulder blade (i.e., scapula), and the arm (i.e., humerus), as well as all the muscles and nerves to work together to achieve the mobility and function we are accustomed to.
If any part of the system is not working correctly, we can become more susceptible to injury. Repetitive stress or trauma to any of these structures can lead to shoulder pain. The most common shoulder problems fall into the following categories:
- Referred pain from the neck – Believe it or not, approximately 40-50% of shoulder pain – especially that of unexplained nature – can be caused by a problem in your neck. It’s best to start any investigations here as addressing an issue in your neck or upper back can quickly resolve your shoulder pain and prevent the excessive spending of time and resources treating something else that’s not there.
- Shoulder joint position – A shoulder joint that is slightly out of position can put abnormal strain on normal tissues. Your therapist can assess for “joint play” and a problem here could lend to a speedy solution.
- Inflammation – This can occur from excessive overloading of the tendons – either acutely or progressively over time – causing them to become inflamed and hypersensitive due to the demands of a laborious job, an overhead activity, or a sport. Tendinopathy (i.e. tendinitis, tendinosis, and bursitis) belongs here.
- Tendon tear (i.e., partial, complete, or degenerative) – Depending on the severity and situation, sometimes surgery is needed to repair a tendon tear. In these cases, physiotherapy, athletic therapy, chiropractic, and massage therapy are an integral part of the pre and post-surgical rehabilitation for a full recovery. But oftentimes, physical therapy can help reduce pain and restore strength to the rotator cuff in cases of a partial or degenerative tear.
- Impingement – Impingement naturally occurs when you raise your arm over your head. But sometimes, the impinged tissues can be hypersensitive and result in pain and loss of range of motion. These can be treated similarly to positional faults or inflammatory conditions.
- Arthritis – The two main forms of arthritis that affect the shoulder are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage in the shoulder joint experiences significant “wear and tear”, or so you’ve been told, typically due to age or excessive overuse. Rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the immune system decides to attack the membranes surrounding the shoulder joint, resulting in pain and inflammation. Both of these result in pain, range of motion loss, weakness in the shoulder muscles, and difficulty performing normal, daily tasks.
- Frozen Shoulder – Also known as “adhesive capsulitis,” a frozen shoulder can occur if your arm has been in a cast or sling for a while due to an injury, or if you have been bedridden for an extended period of time. It results in a painful loss of motion in the shoulder with a tightening of the shoulder joint that severely limits motion. There are some ethnicities that are more predisposed, and women tend to have more instances than men. Frozen shoulder is more common in women 40-60 years of age.
At Leaps and Bounds, our therapists will conduct a thorough evaluation to determine the cause of your shoulder pain and guide you through the most effective treatments, including manual therapy, exercises, and injury prevention strategies.
What you can do to help with your shoulder pain
If you are looking to get started with shoulder pain-relieving strategies, you can try:
Walking
Thirty minutes of walking per day for at least five days a week is the Canadian Movement Guideline. Although this is a general movement guide, an increase in physical activity can have benefits for your achy shoulder. In particular, walking at a moderate intensity helps to release chemical mediators in the body that help to relieve pain. In addition, the reciprocal movement of the arms helps to lubricate the shoulder joints which can also relieve pain.
Sleep Enough and Sleep Well
It’s well-documented that poor sleep or sleep deprivation can increase the sensitivity to pain. So increasing your quantity and quality of sleep can act as a natural analgesic.
The Anti-Inflammatory Diet
Have you heard of “eating the rainbow”? Eating 8-9 servings of fruits and vegetables is powerful therapy for pain control with many beneficial side effects. Additional recommendations include minimizing red meat intake, limiting dairy and grains containing simple carbs (like sugar), and reducing your alcohol consumption.
R-E-L-A-X
Stress and pain have a complex relationship. Stress causes your muscles to tense up, and it increases your levels of the hormone, cortisol, which is linked to inflammation. Consider stress-relieving activities like exercise, socializing with friends, or meditation.
Take Movement Breaks
Prolonged postures or repetitive movements can contribute to undue strain and reduced blood flow to irritated tissues. It’s important to frequently interrupt these things to move around, relieve the strain on the tissues and promote active blood flow again.
Request an Appointment Today
So if you are in the Oakville, ON, or surrounding area and you are contemplating looking to find relief for your shoulder pain, contact Leaps and Bounds: Performance Rehabilitation to schedule a consultation today!