With several bones, joints, tendons and muscles, our shoulder is considered as one of the most movable and flexible joints in our body. This also puts our shoulders at high risk of suffering from pain and injury.

As we rely on our shoulders to do several activities in our day-to-day life like lifting, reaching, playing or gardening, there can be several occasions through which our shoulders might suffer immense pain or injury. 

Just like any other pain or injury, shoulder pain can also be a very difficult condition to deal with if not taken care of properly. It can adversely affect your life altogether, from picking up an object to not being able to sleep.  

When you are in pain, you might feel like your shoulders are too stiff or they may feel really unstable, as if they are about to get disjointed from their socket. Physiotherapy has proven to be of great help under such conditions. Physiotherapy can help you to minimise your shoulder discomfort and ease your pain.

Causes of Shoulder Pain

There are several causes of shoulder pain. For instance, doing a motion that involves your shoulder muscles repeatedly can cause pain in your joints. Likewise, having an injury can also be a reason for shoulder pain. 

Physiotherapy has multiple specific treatment methods that can help you recover from pain. Your physiotherapist can customize your treatment after evaluating your condition to meet your individual needs. Now let us discuss some of the common causes of shoulder pain. 

Shoulder Dislocation or Instability

When shoulder muscles and alignments are stretched beyond their usual limits there is a high chance for them to become unstable. Shoulder instability and dislocation is something that is found commonly among athletes and young people. 

Certain actions that result in a massive force on shoulders such as throwing, tackling, bowling or pitching can cause the ligaments to overstretch. People who undergo such a situation might feel like their shoulders are weak or loose. When this case gets worse, it can result in shoulder dislocation or subluxation. 

This is often caused due to a violent twisting motion or falling onto an outstretched hand. When dealing with shoulder instability during physiotherapy, your therapist’s main focus will be on restoring your control and strength. Your treatment session will involve stability, strengthening, and endurance work. 

Rotator Cuff Injuries

The group of muscles in our shoulders that help us to rotate and lift our arms are called the rotator cuff. They help us with stabilising and supporting our joints. Rotator cuff injuries can be caused due to falling onto our arms, repetitive motion, lifting heavy objects or catching a falling object. 

Ageing can also be another reason for weak rotator cuff muscles. As we age, we become less active and start to lose our strength. This means our rotator cuffs are prone to getting torn easily. 

Physiotherapy can be a great way to tackle rotator cuff injuries. Your therapist will use specific techniques, which will help you regain your range of motion and improve your flexibility. 

Your physiotherapist will guide you on how to minimize the stress on your shoulder muscles by suggesting sleeping positions, posture modifying day-to-day activities and more.   

Sports Injuries

You are mostly at risk of getting injured when you are an active sports person. No matter the kind of sport you are into, shoulder injuries are something that can happen to anyone physically active. Inflammation and pain can be caused if the muscles and tendons are not coordinated properly.  

Physiotherapy is beneficial for all kinds of sports injuries including shoulder injuries. Physiotherapy not only helps to treat injuries but also prevents them from occurring. Your physiotherapist will help you identify and recover from the injury and will also advise you on maintaining good health while allowing you to stay active in sports. 

Frozen Shoulder

Frozen shoulder can be a very painful condition which might be due to shoulder injuries in the past. It can be triggered due to trauma or can appear out of nowhere. When someone is suffering a frozen shoulder issue, their shoulder feels stiff and painful due to the tightness and inflammation in the joint capsule. 

Frozen shoulder often result in affecting our range of motion and flexibility. Physiotherapy aims at a fast recovery from this condition with the help of soft tissue massage. Your therapist will guide you with some stretches that will help you recover your range of motion and loosen up the stiffness in your shoulder muscles.

How Can Physiotherapy Help?

Physiotherapy is a proven medical treatment method that can help you recover from various kinds of pain and conditions. People who suffer from shoulder-related injuries can also benefit from physiotherapy. 

There are several treatment methods such as cold therapy, hot therapy, stretches, hands-on approach, nerve stimulation, joint mobilisation, athletic taping and more to treat shoulder-related issues.

If you are someone living with shoulder pain, then we would suggest you seek help from your nearby physiotherapist. If you are looking for a physiotherapist in Aylesbury, we are here to help! Entrust Care Aylesbury provides all kinds of shoulder-related physiotherapy treatment. Give us a call today to book your appointment!