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Writer's pictureDr. Jake Petersen PT

Having Shoulder Pain? 4 Steps to Decrease Pain

Shoulder Impingement or a Shoulder Rotator Cuff Tear is common, however, can be difficult to live with! Below, we go over steps to start to decrease your shoulder pain.

Our clinic sees mostly all patients that have shoulder pain with a wide range of severity levels. The goal is always the same, to return the patient to no shoulder pain and return to the activity they love. For many that is returning to the gym without limitations, others its picking up their kid without thinking about their shoulder. We don't care, we just want it better!


Many in your position feel like there is no hope and that life will consist of pain pills or worst case surgery. I'm here to tell you there is another option! Even if you have tried rehabbing in the past, there is hope. Lets dive deeper into my 4 tips I tell anyone that is dealing with shoulder pain and is committed to getting it fixed for good!


Tip #1 - Seek a Manual Therapist


This is all over the literature when it comes to shoulder pain. No, this does not mean a massage. This means skilled manual treatment from a skilled practitioner. A combination of manual treatment is the most ideal. Our Shoulder Specialist utilizes a majority of these techniques to get desired results.


This includes: Dry Needling, Electro-Dry Needling, Cupping Therapy, Scrapping, Active/Passive Release Techniques, Manipulation/Adjustments, and most importantly in our opinion Mobilization with Movement (Mulligan Concept).

30-60 minutes of manual treatment during each treatment session is ideal to make sure to hit the various layers of the muscle/fascia complex, address the joint complex and address secondary problems (neck, thoracic spine, shoulder blade, etc,).


Tip #2 - Add Corrective Exercises...The correct exercises!


Yes, manual treatment is very important for success of eliminating your shoulder pain. But this must be followed up with Corrective Exercises for long lasting results. Typically there is an imbalance within the rotator cuff muscles, or limitations within the joint capsule, or secondary problems to the joints surrounding the shoulder that needs to be addressed.


At our clinic, we go through the corrective exercises then provide them in video format for you to do regularly at home. As the pain decreases, we progress the exercises. This gives us more time in the clinic to provide quality manual treatment time.


Tip #3 - Don't Just Rest


While resting the shoulder would seem to make sense, by doing this your shoulder will continue to atrophy and decrease in strength. Continuing to lift heavy and "piss off" your shoulder is also not ideal as you may be making the problem first. Stay active while choosing activities that don't irritate the shoulder.


Tip #4 - Watch How You Are Sleeping


Most patients with shoulder pain have difficulty sleeping, especially on their side. As you sleep on your side this loads the joint in an internally rotated position pinching down on the underlying structures (supraspinatus, biceps tendon, labrum, etc.) causing irritation thus more pain. Try sleeping on your back or put pillows behind your back to de-rotate off your shoulder joint slightly.


Conclusion


Shoulder pain can be irritating, we get that. But don't give up just yet! We see shoulder pai


n of all severity levels and get success stories without surgery or pain medication. Talk with our Shoulder Specialist and come in for our Total Shoulder Diagnostic & Treatment to start seeing results on your first visit.

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