Are You Looking For Shoulder Pain Relief?

Raise your hand if you’ve had shoulder pain before? On second thought, don’t raise your hand, because it might actually cause yourself some more pain! Are you someone who is experiencing shoulder pain, but can’t for the life of you think what caused it. You didn’t fall. Gyms are closed, so it cant be a gym-related injury. So what could it be? 

While constant pain, discomfort, and frustration is nothing fun, it has almost become the norm in our society.

 There are a number of possible causes. And because shoulder pain is so common, you would no doubt have heard about them. 

• Rotator Cuff Strain
• Bursitis
• Arthritis
• Frozen Shoulder
• Impingement
• Other

What Can I Do For My Shoulder Pain?

Too often we see many people opting for a quick fix. A cortisone injection into the shoulder and this should fix everything. Unfortunately, this doesn’t stack up and the research is there to back it up. Cortisone really only acts to mask the pain and symptoms without actually treating the cause of your shoulder pain. 

As Osteopath’s we strive to provide you with long term solutions. This involves treating the cause of your pain. Initially, we will perform a few special tests to identify which structures are getting irritated and where your shoulder pain is coming from. Once we have a good idea, we can get to work. The first 7-10 days is all about pain management.

• A reduction in aggravating activities.
• Restoration of mobility
• Reducing Muscle tightness
• And of course the start of your rehabilitation process.

The quicker we can start your recovery process the quicker you can get back to doing the things you love to do. The best time to start treatment was YESTERDAY. 

Shoulder Pain: Prevent the Flame Before the Fire Starts! 

Do yourself a favor by starting to incorporate more upper body corrective exercises in your warm-ups to help bulletproof your shoulders for the long-term.

No more shoulder pain. No more nagging soreness.

Start feeling what optimal shoulder health should really feel like.

Let’s Increase Your Shoulder Mobility: 

Thread The Needle:

This is a great exercise to start to co-ordinate the movement of your shoulder and your upper back. Our bodies are designed to move it in synergy with its other parts. This mobility exercises, improves your shoulder mobility, while also addressing your upper back. Always remember to switch sides.

Shoulder Halo’s

The video demonstrates our Glen Iris Osteopath using a kettlebell. This exercise can be performed with a hand weight, a weight plate, or any other weighted object. The key here is to get ALL the muscles of the shoulder working together while improving the mobility of the shoulder. 

Building Strong Shoulders: Stability 

The exercise below is a great starting place. It challenges the shoulder and its stability muscles in a relatively safe position.  We are training endurance with this sequence – so aim for 15-2 20 repetitions of each movement. Slow and Controlled.

SHOULDER TAPS :

Building Strong Shoulders: Strength 

Once your pain is under control and your movement starts to improve, now we can start building STRENGTH. Usually, it’s the muscles at the back of your shoulder that need to be woken up and strengthened. The video below demonstrates a great way to start to move the shoulders and strengthen the back muscles. We call this a  “Half Kneeling Face Pull” and can easily be performed from the comfort of your home. 

Half-Kneeling “FACE PULL”

The Long Game For Shoulder Pain:

No one likes brushing their teeth in pain, or not being able to reach for a glass out of the top shelf because of shoulder pain.  The key to ensuring long term health and wellness out of your shoulders is strength and Stability.

END STAGE CHALLENGE:

We like to make training interesting and fun. This is one of our go-to strength and stability exercises for those that have progressed through their rehabilitation program. IMPORTANT  NOTE – this is an END STAGE exercise and should only be performed once you have strength, stability, and control of your shoulder joint! 

TAKE HOME POINTS: 

The shoulder joint is a complex structure, with many different structures that can cause shoulder pain. That being said, we know they respond really well when they are strong and stable. Remember: 

• Cortisone only masks your pain
• Generally, a scan is not needed! 
• Complete rest is not advised. 
• Seek help early. 

ANY QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions about your shoulder pain or want some specific advice we are more than happy to chat to you. you can email us at info@equilibriumsas.com.au