Let's Find the Source of Shoulder Pain

In my practice, I work on more than backs and necks. I hear a lot of complaints about shoulder pain. Sometimes shoulder issues are caused from repetitive motion as the majority of Americans have desk jobs these days. The shoulders tend to be in the same position every day as you sit at your computer using a keyboard and mouse for eight hours or more.Sometimes, it’s not actually an issue with the shoulder that is causing pain. It can stem from weakness or again, overuse in the upper arms and in the muscles running across your upper back. Your head tilting forward as you sit at your computer or look down at your smart phone, can pull all of neck and upper back muscles forward with it, and this puts pressure on your shoulder joints and muscle. If you are experiencing shoulder pain and it’s determined to be from repetitive use, I will most likely give you an exercise program to follow.However, sometimes shoulder pain can stem from other issues. One issue is rotator cuff syndrome, which is caused by inflammation, swelling or even tears in the muscles and tendons in the rotator cuff. Sometimes we hear of rotator cuff injuries in athletes, specifically major league pitchers. Strengthening the muscles in and around the shoulder area can help prevent rotator cuff injuries. Another problem I sometimes see, which can follow rotator cuff injuries is frozen shoulder. Frozen shoulder is caused when adhesions develop between the tendons and ligaments, these cause the latter to get become stuck together, limiting shoulder motion. All of this can happen when shoulder pain is ignored totally.If you are experiencing shoulder pain, please mention it at your appointment. We can conduct an evaluation to determine the source of the problem. Once the source is found, we can address it with therapeutic treatments to remove the inflammation, and most likely we will give you exercises to correct any muscular imbalances in the upper back and chest areas.