Shoulder pain can happen any time – it can show up when you’re reaching toward the top shelf to
put dishes away or when you’re struggling to find a comfortable position to sleep in without feeling a
dull aching pain in your shoulder and neck. It can show up as a result of an injury, making you feel as
if your shoulder is immobile.
There are various reasons why someone may experience shoulder pain, and the severity can range
from the temporary discomfort of a pulled muscle to the agonizing bone-on-bone friction of arthritis.
Whatever may be the cause of your shoulder pain, Long Island Physical Therapy is dedicated to offer
you natural pain management modalities.
If you hate taking drugs and surgeries then, Physical therapy is a way to find relief for shoulder pain
We have treated a number of conditions resulting in shoulder pain, with patients finding
improvement and relief after just a few short sessions – and sometimes less!
Our physical therapists are movement experts, trained to pinpoint the cause of your pain through a
variety of diagnostic techniques.
During your evaluation, we will examine your range of motion, strength, coordination, your medical
history, joint mobility, and mechanics of your joint motion.
Once we have established the cause of your shoulder pain, we can create a specialized combination
of physical therapy methods to manage and relieve your pain.
Gentle manual therapy helps to restore normal joint movement, ease soft tissue restrictions, and
promote circulation, while specific therapeutic exercises restore strength, and the correct sequence
of activation and inhibitions techniques create a balance in the muscle of around the shoulder joint.
Finally, we teach you techniques to enhance your strength and to prevent recurrence of future
shoulder problems.
Your shoulder is capable of many physical activities, and has the greatest range of motion of all the
joints in your body.
However, with its complexities also comes the possibilities of pain and discomfort. It is a “ball-and
socket” joint, meaning the head of the upper arm bone, fits perfectly in the corresponding space
within the shoulder blade. The ends of the bone are protected by a thick layer of cartilage, protecting
the bones from rubbing together.Fluid-filled sacs called “bursae” also protect the tendons from rubbing against the bones. Tendons
attach the bones in the shoulder to a set of bones, known as the rotator cuff. If something goes
wrong with the intricacies that make up the mechanical interplay of the shoulder, pain can result.
The type of pain you feel in your shoulder can vary, depending on what is causing it. Pain from
impingement, for example, typically occurs as you raise your arm up, and begins at a certain point in
the range of motion.
Pain resulting from a degenerated shoulder may create persistent aches every time you move your
arm in certain directions. Acute injuries can result in sudden and intense pains that make it
impossible for you to move your shoulder at all.
While rotator cuff injuries sometimes require surgery if they are severe enough, there are several
cases where physical therapy treatments can work just as well (if not better) than surgery.
According to the American Physical Therapy Association, “A recent study from Finland asserts that
when it comes to treatment of nontraumatic rotator cuff tears, physical therapy alone produces
results equal to those produced by arthroscopic surgery and open surgical repair.”
In this same study, a follow-up on 167 patients receiving physical therapy alone for their rotator cuff
injuries, demonstrated that conservative treatment, such as physical therapy, should be considered
as the primary treatment for this condition.
Your rotator cuff is composed of the muscles and tendons surrounding your shoulder joint.
Sometimes, the rotator cuff can become torn or injured, due to repetitive overhead motions
performed in sports (such as tennis) or jobs (such as carpentry.)
Those who experience rotator cuff injuries or “torn shoulders” generally report a dull ache deep in
their shoulder, arm weakness, difficulty reaching behind their backs, and disturbed sleep due to pain.
At Long Island Physical Therapy our natural and non-invasive methods can help relieve your
shoulder pain and heal your rotator cuff injury.
At Long island Physical therapy, first we will do a thorough physical evaluation and perform
orthopedic diagnostic tests to determine if you do indeed have a rotator cuff tear, and then we will
design a personalized treatment plan based on your diagnosis.
The rotator cuff is composed of 4 muscles, tendons, and soft tissue that surround the shoulder joint.
The job of the rotator cuff is to correctly guide the movement of the shoulder joint. With injury,
overuse, poor posture, or even age, the rotator cuff can be partially or completely torn. Depending on
the severity and situation, sometimes surgery is needed, but often the correct physical therapy
treatments can help reduce pain and restore strength to the rotator cuff to compensate for the
partial tear. If surgery is needed, physical therapy is an integral part of the rehabilitation to a full recovery.
Tendinitis occurs when the shoulder joint is excessively overused typically due to the demands of a
laborious job, overhead activity, or sport. Furthermore, poor posture with elevated and protracted
shoulder is a major contributor, as this alters the normal forces on the tendons, and can set you up
for tendon injury. This causes the tendons to undergo ongoing inflammation, resulting in swelling
and painful impingement when raising your arm
Also known as “adhesive capsulitis,” frozen shoulder can occur if your arm has been in a case or
sling for a while, or if you have been bedridden for an extended period of time. Furthermore, there are
some ethnicities that are more predisposed, and women tend to have more instances than men. It is
more common in women in the 40-60 years of age. Frozen shoulder results in a painful loss of
motion in the shoulder with a tightening of the shoulder joint that severely limits motion.
Arthritis
The two main forms of arthritis that affect the shoulder are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
and tear,” typically due to age or excessive overuse.
surrounding the shoulder joint, resulting in pain and inflammation.
Both of these result in painful loss of motion, weakness to the shoulder muscles, and difficulty
performing normal, daily tasks.
Impingement
Impingement typically occurs because of abnormal movement and tracking of the arm bone head as
you lift your arm overhead. Pain typically occurs when lifting your arm at or above 90 degrees.
Don’t let your shoulder pain limit your physical abilities any longer! We will get you the help you need
to start living your normal life once again.
Call Long Island Physical Therapy today to schedule your appointment and get started on your path
toward pain relief.
Contact Long Island Physical Therapy today for your appointment today and find out how we can get you started on the road to recovery.
Are you ready to take your life back? If so, contact us at Long Island Physical Therapy .
