Shoulder
Washing your hair or face shouldn't be frustratingShoulder Pain and Injuries
Relieve your shoulder pain and get back to what you enjoy!
Shoulder injuries are a fairly common type of injury throughout an individual’s lifespan. The shoulder joint is classified as a ball and socket joint meaning it provides large degrees of movement which then predisposes it to having different types of conditions. Shoulder dislocations or instability normally affects the younger sporting population whilst degenerative conditions such as rotator cuff tears are experienced more often by the older populations.
The management of shoulder injuries usually depends on how the condition is sustained, the severity of structural changes and also the individual’s symptoms. Surgery and invasive repair procedures are usually carried out in the younger population with traumatic type injuries whilst a conservative management approach is usually preferred in the older population with a degenerative type condition.
Should you have sustained an acute dislocation or sharp pain due to a traumatic incident, it would be advisable to seek medical attention to determine the severity of damage to the shoulder structures. However, if the shoulder pain is non-traumatic and is gradually getting worse, it can be effectively managed through physiotherapy via a conservative approach.
Common Shoulder Injuries & Causes of Shoulder Pain
Regardless of your cause of your shoulder pain, our Physiotherapist will work to get to the root cause of your shoulder pain. The good news is that most shoulder pain is generally not serious as it responds well to Physiotherapy, and usually subsides within 4-6 weeks.
Frozen shoulder contracture syndrome
Frozen shoulders is a common shoulder condition which tends to affect middle aged individuals especially women and those who have diabetes or has had a history of trauma or injury to the shoulder.. The condition is still poorly understood and treatments currently available seem to have very mixed outcomes. Causes of frozen shoulder is still unknown but the common characteristics of a frozen shoulder is that of a thickened shoulder capsule and its surrounding ligaments. Frozen shoulders do take a long time to recover, ranging from a few months up to 2-3 years.
Rotator cuff related shoulder pain
Rotator cuff muscles are a group of muscles which are essential for shoulder health and function. Despite being the smaller muscles surrounding a shoulder joint, injury to these structures could be debilitating due to its role in stabilising the shoulder during everyday function. Injuries or tears to the rotator cuff are either traumatic or degenerative in nature with the latter normally occurring in the older population.
Unstable Shoulder
Shoulder instability refers to the inability of the ‘ball’ aspect of the arm bone to stay centred within the supporting shoulder blade during more dynamic movements or in severe cases, just raising an arm. This could be the result of ligamentous laxity whereby an individual has genetically more lax ligaments thus lacking in joint instability or the by-product of a traumatic dislocation.
Tailored Neck Rehabilitation Programmes
At The Rehab Centre, we do not believe in stop-gap solutions to treat your pain and we don’t take shortcuts. After we’ve assessed your symptoms and uncovered the root problem, we’ll put together a customised rehabilitation programme just for you.
A typical session with your Physiotherapist might look like a time of understanding your pain, having a thorough assessment of your shoulder and the region and after, prescribing specific exercises that will address your concerns.
When you leave The Rehab Centre, we want you to be more confident in your shoulder, to have a thorough understanding of the cause of your pain and a clear plan about what you can do to address the pain in your shoulder.
Having shoulder pain and you Google for shoulder pain relief, shoulder pain treatment, shoulder pain exercises or shoulder pain remedy? Look no further! Allow our Physiotherapists to deploy effective preventative and management strategies to assist and empower you to reduce the incidence, recurrence and consequent burden of shoulder pain! Forget ultrasound machines, ESWT and the many passive therapies one may offer for a promise of a quick relief of pain. Chat with us to find out more if you can learn to manage the aches and pain you experience and be free from frequent visits to medical clinics!
Common Treatments for Shoulder Pain
Here are some common treatments and rehabilitation approaches we take for shoulder pain:
Acute Shoulder Pain
For patients experiencing acute shoulder pain, we focus our rehabilitation programmes on:
- Education. We want to help you understand the makeup of your shoulder, why you’re experiencing pain, and how our plan will help you alleviate it.
- Assurance. There’s a low chance you have a serious or long term shoulder condition. We’ll assure you that all will be okay, and help you adopt a positive mindset.
- Manual Therapy. Manual therapy can include massage or joint / soft tissue mobilizations. It can help relieve stiffness and improve range of motion
- Electrotherapeutic Agents. Agents like TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) are low-voltage electrical currents that disrupt pain signals and reduce discomfort.
- Gradual Movement within Comfort Levels. We’ll slowly introduce gradual movements and exercises within your level of comfort to get your neck back to 100%, or as close as possible.
- Return to Activity. Our ultimate goal is to get you back to the daily and extracurricular activities you love – pain free.
Stiff Shoulder
A stiff shoulder can be a result of the lack of movement post surgery, a frozen shoulder contracture syndrome or just due to pain with movement. Our ultimate goal is to understand the root cause of the pain and to strengthen the neck and shoulder muscles. For patients experiencing a stiff shoulder, we aim to:
- Advise and Educate. If you’re experiencing a stiff shoulder, we want to not only treat you, but educate you on how to manage your stiffness going forward.
- Assurance. Even if you’ve been experiencing a stiff shoulder for months or years, it’s unlikely to be serious or crippling. Changing your mindset and shifting your expectations regarding your stiff shoulder can be incredibly helpful.
- Heat Therapy. Heat can help your muscles relax, often reducing pain and improving mobility.
- Graduated Movement Programme. Lastly, we’ll gradually introduce new movements and exercises to help you return to function and daily activities you love.
Unstable Shoulder
An unstable shoulder can be a result of a shoulder dislocation or a fall on an outstretched arm. Our ultimate goal is to understand the root cause of the instability and to strengthen the neck and shoulder muscles. For patients experiencing an unstable shoulder, we aim to:
- Advise and Educate. If you’re experiencing an unstable shoulder, we want to not only treat you, but educate you on how to manage your instability going forward.
- Assurance. Knowing that you will get stronger and more confident with strengthening exercises can be extremely helpful.
- Graduated Movement Programme. Lastly, we’ll gradually introduce new movements and exercises to help you return to your sport and daily activities, confidently and safely.
