Types Of Shoulder Pain And How Chiropractic Treatment Can Help
The shoulder is a complex and elegant joint that allows for extreme motion of the hand, allowing you to reach over your head, behind the back and so on. However, shoulder joints are not very stable, as they are mostly held together by tendons and ligaments, leaving them vulnerable to injury.
The rotator cuff muscles, which are mostly responsible for holding the shoulder joints in place, are subjected to degradation in the course of your daily activities, which may resulting in inflammation and pain. Muscles in the upper chest and back that stabilize the shoulder and allow for smooth motion and stability may also get easily injured due to trauma, overuse or poor posture.
Types of shoulder pain
Shoulder injuries may cause pain that ranges from a slight disturbance to inability to move your entire shoulder. Mild shoulder pain, known as tendonitis, is usually a result of overuse, and will usually go away after a few days of rest. More debilitating pain that persists beyond a few days and causes inability to raise the arm or carry objects could indicate a more serious condition, and may require therapeutic treatment.
Rotator cuff syndrome is a common injury that results from torn muscles and ligaments in the rotator cuff, causing pain in the front and side of your shoulder, especially at night. This injury is commonly caused by poor arm posture, such as sagging your arm, or undertaking activities, such as swimming or lifting, that involve a lot of overhead arm motion.
The pain caused by such an injury often discourages you from moving the affected shoulder, resulting in a condition called frozen shoulder, which basically causes the tendons and ligaments to develop adhesions that limit shoulder motion.
How chiropractic care can help
Chiropractic treatment can be used to manage and alleviate different types of shoulder pain.
Chiropractors will usually start by attempting to reduce swelling around the shoulder joint by using ice and heat application or electrical muscle stimulation therapies that promote blood flow and loosen up tendons and ligaments.
Next, hands-on manipulation comes into play, where a range of exercises are applied to the shoulder joint in an attempt to gradually restore the balance of the shoulder. Stretching the muscles and tendons around the injured joint can manipulate capsular joint restrictions, reducing inflammation and pain while restoring motion.
Spinal manipulation may also be applied to loosen the shoulder muscles on the upper back and remove joint fixations that slow down healing or inhibit motion. Finally, muscle massage and release chiropractic techniques may be applied to restore normal elasticity of the shoulder muscles, increasing motion and breaking down scar tissue around the rotator cuff and surrounding soft tissue.
To learn more, contact a company like Stroud Chiropractic Clinic.