Your shoulder is the most mobile joint in your body and you use it every time you reach, lift, push or pull, and even when you write. With all that activity, it's understandable why shoulder pain is a common complaint. Shoulder problems can be caused by traumatic injury, overuse, or just a lifetime of constant motion.
Licensed physical therapists are trained to sort through all the causes and complicating factors of a painful shoulder. At Globerman PT, we can help you with both acute and chronic shoulder pain beginning with a comprehensive evaluation. This involves looking at your muscle strength, flexibility, coordination, balance, and testing your neurological responses. Then we'll provide you with exercises and procedures to reduce pain and increase your strength and ability.
We've found that poor posture is the main contributing factor in ongoing, non-injury specific shoulder pain. We've found that the best way to alleviate shoulder pain is with the tactile postural training and specific exercises that you'll learn during the course of your treatment to improve postural control and shoulder stability.
We've had great success helping our patients with shoulder problems using modalities like iontophoresis - a device that delivers medication through the skin to the spot and reduces inflammation and pain, and kinesiotaping, a method used to reduce the stress of tight muscles and help the shoulder stabilizers work better.
Self help tips for shoulder pain
Use ice or heat: For acute injuries ice is the preferred choice. If it has been more than 48 hours, use what gives you relief
Practice good sitting posture: avoid slumping and rounding your shoulders
The Shoulder Pendulum: bend forward leaning over a table with your good arm, let your painful arm dangle and perform slow and controlled circles 10 times in each direction
Avoid all overhead activities
LInk to Globerman Physical Therapy's Shoulder Resource:
http://globerman.patientsites.com/Injuries-Conditions/Shoulder/Introduction-to-Shoulder-Issues/a~1135/article.html