How to Manage Shoulder Pain

If you’re living with shoulder pain, it can be hard to figure out how to manage that shoulder pain. Ongoing discomfort in your shoulders can have a big impact on everyday life, from affecting the activities you normally enjoy to disrupting your sleep. Working out what treatments and strategies can help control the pain is often stressful and time-consuming too! That’s why we want to share our tips for better managing shoulder pain. By bringing together evidence-backed advice with empathy, we hope these insights will provide some comfort if you or someone close to you is dealing with this condition.

Understand what is causing your shoulder pain – a doctor can help with this
Experiencing shoulder pain can be discomforting and inconvenient, and it can be difficult to know exactly what is causing it.

Causes of Shoulder Pain

There are many possible causes of shoulder pain, including:

Rotator Cuff Injury: The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that surround the shoulder joint. An injury to the rotator cuff can cause pain, weakness, and limited mobility.

Frozen Shoulder: Frozen shoulder, also known as adhesive capsulitis, is a condition in which the shoulder joint becomes stiff and painful. It is caused by inflammation and tightening of the shoulder capsule.

Bursitis: Bursitis is inflammation of the fluid-filled sacs (bursae) that cushion the joints. When bursae in the shoulder become inflamed, it can cause pain and limited range of motion.

Tendinitis: Tendinitis is inflammation of a tendon, which is the tissue that connects muscle to bone. It can cause pain and limited mobility.

Arthritis: Arthritis is a condition in which the joints become inflamed and can cause pain, stiffness, and limited mobility. It can affect the shoulder joint as well as other joints in the body.

Shoulder Impingement Syndrome: Shoulder impingement syndrome is caused by the compression of soft tissue in the shoulder joint. It can cause pain, weakness, and limited mobility.

Manage Shoulder Pain

If you’re dealing with shoulder pain, we understand the discomfort and hassle it can cause. Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to treating shoulder pain, but there are a few steps you can take to reduce your pain levels and increase comfort.

Rest and Ice Therapy The first step for managing shoulder pain is rest. This means avoiding activities that require you to move your shoulder too much or put too much strain on it. You should also use ice therapy to reduce any swelling in the area and reduce inflammation. Apply an ice pack directly to the affected area for 15-20 minutes at a time throughout the day.

Stretching Exercises Stretching exercises can improve joint mobility and reduce tension in muscles. Begin slowly and only stretch to your comfort level. As you progress, increase repetitions or hold stretches longer. Avoid pushing yourself too hard to prevent further damage or increased pain.

Physical Therapy If rest and stretching exercises don’t alleviate your shoulder pain, consider physical therapy. It can help restore full range of motion in the joint and reduce inflammation with treatments like ultrasound or electrical stimulation. A physical therapist will also guide you through targeted strengthening exercises to improve range of motion and reduce discomfort.

Conclusion

Shoulder pain can be managed with proper treatment. Options include rest, ice therapy, and physical therapy to restore normal joint functioning. These treatments can alleviate symptoms and prevent interference with daily life activities. Find what works best for your individual needs to quickly relieve shoulder pain.

At-home care for Frozen Shoulder pain relief

If you are worried about losing shoulder range for daily activities, here are tips for at-home care that you can do to help find Frozen Shoulder pain relief.

Frozen shoulder is also known as adhesive capsulitis: a condition in which the one has following symptoms:

  • Shoulder stiffness
  • Shoulder pain in all directions
  • Reduced mobility
  • Difficulty for lying on it

When your shoulder freezes due to injury or trauma, it is considered a secondary frozen shoulder. It occurs due to not moving the arm for long time and keeping it in a brace after injury.

In a second type of frozen shoulder, the connective tissue surrounding the joint becomes inflamed, scarred, and tight, which contributes to a loss of mobility to the shoulder joint. There are four stages of frozen shoulder with symptoms of pain, stiffness, and decreased daily function.

  • Inflammation: lasts 6-10 weeks
  • Freezing: lasts for 6 months with increased pain
  • Frozen: lasts 4-6 months with decreasing pain but stiffness continues
  • Thawing: lasts 6 month – 2 years

Activities that are difficult to perform with Frozen shoulder are:

  • Lifting or carrying a bag
  • Reaching behind the back or to back pocket or to high shelf
  • Putting on a shirt
  • Sleeping on your side

Now there is a natural way for frozen shoulder pain relief. Physical therapy plays important role in teaching you to manage pain. A Physical therapist guides you on the best ways to complete tasks with the shoulder motion that you have. Simple stretching exercises for the shoulder and hot packs at home helps to manage shoulder pain. It also helps to improve joint mobility. Continuing stretching exercises provided by your physical therapist assists you to manage Frozen shoulder pain naturally without medications or injections.

It is important to remember a few things when performing stretching at home for your frozen shoulder pain relief. First, warm up your shoulder before performing your frozen shoulder exercises. The best way to do that is to take a warm shower or bath, or use a hot pack for 10 to 15 minutes. Remember to stretch to the point of tension but not pain while performing the frozen shoulder exercises.

If the pain is not managed by stretches at home and your shoulder mobility impacts your daily activities, then seeing a physical therapist can make a difference. Physical therapists use a combination of manual therapy, stretching exercises and home exercise programs to treat Frozen shoulder. Learn here how can physical therapist help you manage pain and increase mobility to perform daily activities with frozen shoulder.

Here are some Frozen shoulder stretching exercises you can perform at home to relive pain and improve shoulder mobility.

https://www.facebook.com/Potentialphysicaltherapy/videos/3137825999657072/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBLxMzAHJR1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFtygxfdA0g

About Potential Physical Therapy:

Our physical therapist designs a personalized exercise program according to your individual needs. We use an evidence-based approach to educate and treat you that speeds up your recovery. We teach proper form of exercises and home exercise programs for faster recovery. In most cases, physical therapy will be enough to recover from Frozen shoulder.

CONTACT US today to learn more about our services and how they can help you relieve pain.

Or

Call us at (610) 249-0001 with any questions and we will be happy to assist you.

Reference:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/shoulders/stretching-exercises-frozen-shoulder