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Shoulder

"The shoulder joint is the most mobile joint in the human body, making it susceptible to injury."
-Dr Scott McEvoy, Chiropractor

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What is shoulder pain?

Shoulder pain is experienced to protect the shoulder joint following injury or damage.  The shoulder joint is the most mobile joint in the human body. They allow you to perform extensive movements, including overhead activities. This increased mobility comes at the expense of stability, making the joint more susceptible to injury.  Injury occurs to the shoulder joint from either a sudden force, such as in sport or a fall. Otherwise, they can occur over time from repetitive use, leading to wear and tear, inflammation or arthritis.  A weakness of the shoulder muscles, known as the rotator cuff muscles, can lead to these injuries.  Another common cause of shoulder pain is the neck or upper back, causing referred pain to the shoulder. 

An elderly gentlemen is smiling as he shows a young female doctor where his right shoulder pain is coming from. His arm is at ninety degrees to his side. He is wearing a button up blue shirt. Anatomy poster are in the background on a cream coloured wall. Chiro Shoulder pain
Bursitis
A middle aged man with a grey beard is clutching his left shoulder in pain. He is wearing a grey lip up jumper and a grey shirt. He has a posture of bending forward at 15 degrees in shoulder pain. rotator cuff injury.
Rotator Cuff Tear causes sharp pain
A young lady sitting at a computer holding her upper back. She has long dark hair and is wearing a white shirt.
Impingement

Types of shoulder injuries

Rotator cuff tear

The shoulder joint comprises four rotator cuff muscles.  Damage to the tendon or muscle of these structures is known as a rotator cuff tear.  A tear can be either partial or complete depending on severity.  Rotator cuff tears are common and may result from overuse or a fall.  Your rotator cuff can also show wear and tear as you age.  Rotator cuff tears are painful and often result in inflammation, weakness and loss of mobility.   

Bursitis and tendonitis

Your shoulder has a fluid-filled sac between the muscles and bones, the bursa.  This fluid provides cushioning and smooth movement to your shoulder joint.  If this sac becomes inflamed you have bursitis.   Bursitis is a painful condition and can lead to loss of movement and weakness. 

Tendons are how your body attaches muscles to bone.  Tendonitis is a condition where the tendon becomes inflamed.  This can be from overuse or the result of a fall.  Commonly, people who work overhead or perform heavy-lifting suffer tendonitis.  Tendonitis creates pain and loss of movement.  From our experience tendonitis can progress without the correct care and advice.  

Impingement
 Impingement syndrome, also known as swimmer’s syndrome, results from your rotator cuff tendons being impinged. This occurs between your upper arm and shoulder blade bones.  Anyone who performs regular overhead activities or desk work is susceptible to impingement.  Impingement causes inflammation and pain in the shoulder joint.
Instability  
Shoulder instability is usually the result of the total or partial dislocation of the shoulder.  This results in damage to the shoulder cartilage or labrum.  But, it can result from loose shoulder ligaments.  Ligaments can be loose due to genetics or repetitive movement, such as throwing.  Patients with instability often experience a giving feeling in the shoulder.  Pain and weakness are symptoms of shoulder instability.    

Frozen Shoulder

Frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, is when you experience a stiff and very painful shoulder joint.  With a frozen shoulder, you can lose most of your shoulder movement.  Whilst the cause of frozen shoulder is not entirely understood, a patient will experience three phases:  ‘Freezing’ a 6-9 week period where pain increases and a slow loss of shoulder mobility occurs. ‘Frozen’ is a 4-6 month period where pain and stiffness stay the same—followed by ‘Thawing’, a 6-24 month period where your shoulder returns to normal movement and strength.  Pain during a frozen shoulder usually is dull and aching.

Fracture

The shoulder joint is comprised of three bones.  If you fracture any of these bones, you will experience pain, inflammation and bruising.  Post recovery of your fracture, you will experience a decrease in strength and possible loss of movement.  This is due to the inactivity of the shoulder muscles during recovery.  If not correctly addressed, a shoulder fracture can progress to any of the above injuries.  

How to Fix Common Shoulder Injuries?

We treat acute and chronic shoulder pain at Five Dock Osteopathic and Chiropractic. Our approach is to go to the root cause of the problem.
 
Acute Shoulder Pain Treatment
 
After diagnosing the root cause of your pain, the first step is always to restore any loss in movement.  This is achieved through targeted soft tissue massage and mobilisations of a few critical muscle and joint groups.  Our many years of experience have taught us that there are three main areas to target to fix a shoulder injury. At this stage, it is important to educate you on what not to do during the pain phase of your care.  The second step is to retrain your shoulder stability through carefully chosen exercises.  Remember, the shoulder joint is the most mobile in the human body, so muscle strength is essential.  Finally, we will educate you on the correct to move your shoulder to ensure you decrease the chance of reinjury.
 
Chronic Shoulder Pain Treatment
 
Chronic shoulder pain is defined as pain that lasts for longer than six months. Like all chronic pain, chronic shoulder pain causes a change in your brain (alteration of the sensory processing by the brain leading to amplification of pain).  Five Dock Osteopathic and Chiropractic has found that the key to fixing such pain is improved neck movement and retraining your shoulder stability.  This, in turn, retrains your brain, so it no longer amplifies pain.  
 

Shoulder Pain Treatment Methods

  • We have several unique methods for treating all kinds of shoulder pain:
     
    • In treating shoulder pain, we look at three main areas.  Firstly, the neck, as the restricted movement of your neck, affects your shoulder movement.  Secondly, your shoulder blade, as most likely, you are misusing your shoulder blade.  This creates incorrect shoulder movement and stress on the muscle, tendons and ligaments.  Your neck and shoulder blade are the foundation for good shoulder movement.  Leading to the third region, the shoulder joint.  There are eleven muscles attaching to the bones making up your shoulder joint.  We need to address all these muscles as they work together to create a smooth, safe movement for you. 
     
    • Shoulder blade (scapula) stability through carefully tailored exercises guarantees long-term change.  We not only fix you. We equip you with the knowledge and skills to protect your shoulders throughout every stage of life. 
At sunset a middle aged female is skipping over a skipping rope. She is wearing long grey pants, a white top with a cream colour zip-up jumper. Benefit of therapeutic chiropractor
Enjoy life with no shoulder pain

What Makes Our Treatment Of Shoulder Pain Unique

We have our own unique style of massage developed to complement our adjustments. We are experts at tracing the cause of shoulder pain to its source.  Our treatment includes both the front of the body (neck, chest, shoulder and arm muscles) and the back (cervical spine, scapula, shoulder and arm muscles). This approach focuses on you as a whole person, not a region in isolation. This brings you short-term relief from pain and lasting improvements to your health and well-being. Our adjustments all use traction, making them smooth and gentle on your body. We work with you to devise a personalised functional exercise plan. Our exercise will stretch and strengthen your shoulder and build your stability.  Learn more with our chiropractic blogs how care can help.

What type of shoulder pain do you have?

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About

Five Dock Osteopathic & Chiropractic is located in Canada Bay, in Sydney’s Inner West. Servicing suburbs including Burwood, Croydon, Drummoyne, Five Dock, Haberfield, Concord, Abbotsford, Chiswick, Leichhardt, Wareemba, Russell Lea, Summer Hill, Strathfield.

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212 Great North Road, Five Dock, NSW 2046

Phone: 02 9712 1736

Fax      : 02 9712 1736

Email  : [email protected]

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