Inflammation in the rotator cuff is the most common cause of shoulder pain.
The rotator cuff is where four different muscles connect your arm bone to your shoulder, allowing your arm to move in a circular motion. During exercise, sports, or lifting something, the tendons (which connect those muscles to bone) sometimes become pinched between the bones or irritated and inflamed (sore and swollen) from repetitive use (tendonitis). Even the fluid sacs that provide a cushion between your muscles, bones, and tendons can become inflamed (bursitis). Since inflammation may grow over time from repeat motion, you might not even know exactly when it began or what activity caused it.
Other causes of shoulder pain include tears in the cartilage of the joint or, of course, broken bones due to direct impact.
Shoulder Pain
What causes shoulder pain?
Shoulders are the most mobile joint in the body. They are made up of 3 bones: the humorous (long arm bone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the clavicle (collar bone). As a ball and socket joint, the shoulder allows a great amount of movement, shrugging forward and backward and allowing the arm to rotate in a wide circular motion.
Such a complex joint and great range of motion creates many situations where inflammation and injury can occur.
Treatment for Shoulder Pain
As with most inflammation, you can first try treating the pain with rest and ice (20 minutes per hour max).
Chiropractic Care for Shoulder Pain
If your pain does not go away quickly or you have not regained complete mobility, we can help. The doctors at Synergy Oviedo Chiropractic will examine your shoulder (using digital x-rays and a personal consultation) to determine the best course of treatment, which may include chiropractic care, physical therapy, and/or laser therapy to achieve drug-free, pain-free results.
Laser Therapy for Shoulder Pain
Using laser therapy in addition to the treatments above can speed recovery by increasing circulation to the joint and reducing inflammation. Cold laser therapy helps heal and energize at the cellular level!
Pain sometimes indicates your joint is out of proper skeletal alignment, causing bones and muscle to press on nerves. Chiropractic care works specifically on optimizing the biomechanics of your spine, ensuring that the vertebrae are correctly positioned and moving well to ease pressure off of the nerves supplying your shoulder joint.
Physical Therapy for Shoulder Pain
Physical therapy supports and reinforces chiropractic adjustments with specific exercises to stretch and strengthen your joint, which in turn can reduce pain and inflammation.
