Stiff Shoulders
Shoulder pain is most common in athletes, although it can affect anyone. Most shoulder pain occurs when soft tissues in the shoulder are injured or over-used. Soft tissues refer primarily to the muscles, tendons, ligaments and bursae. Shoulder pain can result from trauma in a fall or car accident, or from movements such as swinging a racket, throwing a ball or repetitive movements in the workplace.
The type of shoulder pain you have depends on what tissue is affected. Some injuries lead to inflammatory conditions such as bursitis and tendonitis, while others may lead to arthritis or instability. Sometimes shoulder pain may travel to the elbow or even to the neck. Therefore, you may feel pain in other locations, even though it is coming from the shoulder. Your chiropractor can care for your shoulder pain and offer relief.
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Shoulder impingement syndrome is a painful condition that can make almost everything you do on a daily basis, from brushing your hair to reaching for items on a high shelf, difficult and sometimes impossible.
People with this condition usually complain of an ache in the shoulder, which becomes a sharp pain when they raise their arm to the front or the side of their body. They may also experience weakness and a decreased range of motion. All the symptoms usually worsen while they sleep, especially if they have a tendency to roll onto the affected shoulder.
Tennis players, pitchers and swimmers are among those most susceptible to shoulder problems, as repeated overhead movements can cause irritation and swelling in the joint. People who tend to sleep with one arm above their head or under their pillow may also be at risk.
Shoulder impingement syndrome is a complex condition, commonly mistaken by health-care providers for similar disorders in the shoulder like tendonitis, bursitis, or muscle tears. These conditions are all closely related and produce similar, almost indistinguishable symptoms.
In fact, impingement syndrome can develop when patients treat other shoulder conditions, like those mentioned above, improperly. Without proper care, these conditions cause shoulder dysfunction, and over time the body responds by producing scar tissue.
It’s the scar tissue that interferes with the usual motion of the shoulder joint, much the same as rust on a bolt makes it hard to twist in a screw. Your shoulder only has enough space for the essentials: the muscles that move the arm, the tendons that connect muscle to bone, the ligaments that connect bone to bone and the cushioning tissues that protect them all. Impingement refers to the pinching or rubbing among these tendons, ligaments and bones, which intensifies when you lift your arm, and becomes painful when scar tissue joins the crowd.
Living with shoulder impingement syndrome isn’t easy, as it affects almost everything you do. It’s therefore imperative that you seek care from your chiropractor if you suspect you have the condition. Using a variety of techniques, he or she can decrease the amount of scar tissue in your shoulder and rehabilitate the area.
People commonly refer to adhesive capsulitis as “frozen shoulder,” an apt name given the symptoms. Those affected find they have difficulty moving their shoulder or performing everyday tasks that involve lifting their arms. In fact, as the condition progresses, severe pain in the shoulder can make some arm movements impossible.
Adhesive capsulitis involves inflammation of a protective capsule that covers the shoulder joint. When this capsule is working properly, it limits excessive movement in the shoulder joint and keeps the surrounding area healthy by providing lubrication and nourishment. When the capsule becomes injured or overused, however, the body reacts with inflammation and adhesions (scar tissue), the latter being its effort to replace damaged tissue.
Adhesions cause the capsule to become stiff and inflexible, making it painful for patients to move their arm above their head, to the side of their body or behind their back. Patients also commonly report that the pain worsens with time and persists when they’re resting, particularly when they sleep on the affected shoulder.
What makes the condition worse is that some patients compensate for their frozen shoulder by shrugging their upper body to lift their arm. This causes other muscles to do the work the shoulder normally does, which can cause strains and secondary pain in the neck and shoulder.
Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent adhesive capsulitis, as nobody really knows what causes it. While the disorder sometimes develops after an injury, it more commonly begins without warning. The only established risk factor is aging, as people with the condition are usually 40 or older.
The good news is that while chiropractors aren’t sure what causes adhesive capsulitis, they know how to care for it. Chiropractic care is effective, and your chiropractor can use several techniques that will help to reduce pain and increase your shoulder’s range of motion.
Rotator cuff tendonitis might not sound familiar to you because it has a variety of other names, including pitcher’s shoulder, swimmer’s shoulder and tennis shoulder. But even if you’re not a pitcher, you don’t swim or you’ve never played tennis, rotator cuff tendonitis can affect you. Several factors, like sudden injury or trauma, can lead to this condition, meaning everyone is at risk.
The main symptom of rotator cuff tendonitis is debilitating pain in the shoulder. It usually begins gradually, when patients are using their arm in everyday activities. Later, the pain may travel to the upper arm and elbow, sometimes worsening at night. Ultimately, those suffering from rotator cuff tendonitis find that the pain is so intense they can’t move their arm the way they used to.
The culprit is the rotator cuff, a group of muscles and their associated tendons that form a sleeve around the shoulder joint. These tendons connect the muscles to the bones in the shoulder, allowing the arm to move up, move down, stabilize and rotate.
The problem starts when the tendons become inflamed, as a result of an injury, repeated overhead arm movements (like reaching for a high object) or the ordinary wear and tear of everyday life. In younger, more active people, falls and sports-related injuries are usually the cause. For less active older people, the tendons are usually already weakened, making them more susceptible to tears during normal activity.
If you have rotator cuff tendonitis, it’s important to see a chiropractor as soon as possible. The condition can lead to shoulder impingement syndrome, a more serious problem that can severely restrict your shoulder’s range of motion. Chiropractors are highly successful in providing care for patients with rotator cuff tendonitis, and chiropractic management offers many safe, conservative and effective methods of relieving pain and reducing inflammation.
