Shoulder pain can happen to people of all ages from children to the elderly. Pain from the shoulder can be very intense and cause a lot of limitations with many of our day-to-day activities.
Although we commonly think of the shoulder as one joint, it is made up of 4 separate joints. However, despite the number of joints that make up the shoulder complex, the shoulder does not have a lot of bony protection to keep it stable. This basically means that majority of our shoulder joint is held together by soft tissues. This also means that there are a lot of soft tissue structures that can get injured and produce shoulder pain. Below is a list of the most injured structures of the shoulder joint.
Soft tissue structure | How does injury occur? |
---|---|
Ligaments |
|
Muscles & Tendons |
|
Joint Capsule |
|
Bursae |
|
Labrum |
|
Physiotherapy treatment can help you manage shoulder pain. A Registered Physiotherapist at PhysioNow will do a thorough assessment of your shoulder to understand the nature of your pain or injury.
The physiotherapist will use the information from the assessment to develop a treatment plan that will address the signs and symptoms of your shoulder pain. The specific treatment will depend on the nature of your shoulder pain.
Shoulder pain physiotherapy treatment may include:
Don’t let your shoulder pain affect your quality of life! We have 4 locations across the communities of Mississauga, Etobicoke and Oakville to help you manage your pain. Contact PhysioNow to book your appointment and get started today!
Anybody can be affected by shoulder pains. Common causes are injuries to the rotator cuff muscles. Injuries can happen due to trauma or from wear and tear over time.
We treat shoulder injuries with modalities such as ultrasound and electrotherapy. These are very comfortable treatments to receive. We also do hands on mobilizations for your shoulder to release the tightness. Lastly, we give you very specific exercises that can speed up your recovery.
Most people will not need surgery for shoulder pain. Conservative care, such as Physiotherapy is the treatment of choice. The only time that surgery is considered is if you are a major league pitcher or if there is a full tear to one of your shoulder muscles and Physiotherapy has ‘failed’.
Warning signs include: you are having trouble reaching overhead, reaching behind your back or putting your arm into your coat.
Most people can recover well even if they have a full tear to the rotator cuff. We have other muscles that can help even if one is not doing its job. Physiotherapy is very effective in helping you to recover from a full tear. It is often less painful than if you have a partial tear or tendonitis.
There are a few reasons why shoulder pain is worse at night. Firstly, during the day you are moving around and doing your day to day tasks. This keeps the shoulder a little more mobile and pain is not as noticeable. However at night, you are not moving around as much and this causes the shoulder to stiffen up more. Secondly, at the end of the day, it is likely that there are less distractions than during the day which makes you more aware of the pain.
Some noise from joints like popping or clickins is perfectly normal. If those noises are associated with pain or other symptoms then there may be a mechanical reason why it’s occuring. If there is discomfort then it would be a good idea to see a physiotherapist so that they can assess the shoulder and provide any treatment if there is a problem with the shoulder.
Not necessarliy! However, if there is a history of shoulder pain or a recent injury to the shoulder, then it may be painful to sleep on that particular side.
It depends! Lifting heavy doesn’t automatically mean there is going to be damage to the shoulder. There are safe ways to continue with lifting as long as there is proper posture and technique during the lift. Also, it is important to work up to heavier weights over extended periods of time so that there is enough strength in the shoulder to tolerate the lift. However, like any joint, if there is excessive use and repetitive motions over time, this may negatively affect the shoulder down the line. Therefore, it is important to do a variety of strengthening activities and be aware of any developing limitations so that injuries can be prevented.
Stretching on a regular daily basis will definitely help prevent injury to the shoulder. A physiotherapist can help prescribe the most appropriate shoulder exercises that you can do at home to help maintain good shoulder movement and function.
Mississauga
PhysioNow Applewood
1077 North Service Road,
Unit 25
Mississauga,
Ontario, L4Y 1A6
PhysioNow Erinmills
3105 Glen Erin Drive,
Unit 4
Mississauga, Ontario,
L5L 1J3
PhysioNow Lorne Park
1150 Lorne Park Rd,
Unit 4
Mississauga, Ontario,
L5H 3A5
PhysioNow Hurontario-Eglinton
4557 Hurontario Street, Unit
B-10, Mississauga, Ontario,
L4Z 3M2
Etobicoke
PhysioNow Longbranch
3715 Lake Shore Blvd. W.
Etobicoke, Ontario,
M8W 1P8
Oakville
PhysioNow Maple Grove
2035 Cornwall Road
Oakville, Ontario,
L6J 7S2
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