Erase your pain with chiropractic!

Does your sore shoulder make getting into a coat sleeve difficult?  Do you dread lifting a jug of juice out of the refrigerator?  Do you have difficulty sleeping because of your bad shoulder?  Chiropractic can eliminate your shoulder pain!

A painful shoulder can make life miserable!   Anything that keeps you from enjoying your work and your family needs to be taken care of.  Yet, shoulder pain is often dismissed as a “touch of bursitis” or “arthritis”.  Typical treatments can include harmful pain-killers, rest and sometimes even surgery.  Chiropractic can safely and effectively eliminate your shoulder pain without the use of drugs or invasive-surgery.  Whether caused by an injury or wear and tear, shoulder pain can and needs to be dealt with.

Possible causes of shoulder pain:

• Sports injury (pitching, throwing, tackling, swinging)
• Car accident (especially whiplash)
• Overuse and/or repetitive motions (lifting and reaching)
• Arthritis (aging, normal wear and tear)
• Old injury from childhood
• Sleeping in an awkward position
• Long-standing spinal or emotional stress

Your “intricate” shoulder

The anatomy of your shoulder makes it vulnerable to injury.

Your shoulder is a complex system of bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, joins and nerves.  These tissues are susceptible to injury and dysfunction, if not properly maintained.  Your shoulder depends on thousands of intricate nerves and other tissues to help it function smoothly.  No wonder shoulder injuries have ended so many athletic careers.  Your shoulder is known as a “suspension” joint.   This type of joint makes your shoulder very mobile and flexible.  However, a “suspension” joint also limits the strength of your shoulder because it has a shallow socket and very little support.  The anatomy of your shoulder makes it vulnerable to injury.  Chiropractic care helps restore the strength and integrity of your shoulder’s supporting soft tissues, to keep your joints flexible and working pain-free.

Common Sources of shoulder pain

Most shoulder problems involve either overuse or underuse.  The most common sources of shoulder pain include:

• Referred Pain:

-Because the shoulder joint is closely connected to the spinal nerves in the neck, pain may radiate to your shoulder from inflamed nerve roots in your neck. Likewise, a shoulder disorder may cause pain in your neck and hands.

• Bursitis and Tendinitis:

-Overuse of your shoulder by excessive lifting, reaching or repetitive action can inflame the bursa (fluid-filled “cushioning” sacs) and tendons of your shoulder, resulting in bursitis or tendinitis.Localized pain usually limits your shoulder’s mobility.

• Rotator Cuff Injury:

-One or more of the rotator cuff tendons (which hold your arm in place) can be inflamed or torn by injury. Pain and restricted movement often follow an injury to the rotator cuff tendons.

• “Frozen” Shoulder:

-When your shoulder is in pain, you may tend to avoid using it.This underuse can cause scar tissue develop, which can limit your shoulder’s mobility-until it suddenly “freezes”. The pain is often quite intense.Professional care to restore movement is essential to prevent further disability.

• Degenerative Arthritis:

-Everyday wear and tear can lead to progressive damage of the bones, tendons and cartilage of your shoulder. Joint degeneration can cause the surfaces of two adjacent bones to rub together, causing chronic pain.

You can be injured, without getting “hurt”

Your shoulder joint “injury” may have resulted from accumulated joint stress, rather than from an accident or fall.  Perhaps your pain and discomfort are related to an old forgotten injury that didn’t heal properly.  Strains and sprains can result in continued injury to your joint, even after the pain is gone.  Chiropractic can stop the progression of joint deterioration and help soft tissue injuries that don’t always appear on x-rays.  Overuse of poorly conditioned tissues can leave your shoulder joint susceptible to injury.  By keeping your soft tissues well-conditioned and your bones properly aligned, chiropractic can often prevent injury from occurring in the first place.  If you “baby” your bad shoulder by not using it, you could be doing more harm than good.  Lack of movement can lead to muscle atrophy, the development of scar tissue, and loss of elasticity in the supportive tissues of your shoulder.  Prompt chiropractic care can reduce or even eliminate your chances of suffering from chronic joint pain and eventual disability.

Chiropractic care for your shoulder

Chiropractic care for your shoulder will depend on whether your condition is from a muscle, joint or nerve problem.  We will examine your neck and upper back to see if spinal nerve irritation could be the source of your shoulder pain.  A shoulder injury may even result from a weakness due to an underlying nerve irritation could be the source of your shoulder pain.  A shoulder injury may even result from a weakness due to an underlying nerve irritation.  Spinal and shoulder joint adjustments may be needed.  I may also give you strengthening or stretching exercises to help restore full range of motion to your shoulder.  Whatever your needs, give it time.  Shoulder problems can be resistant to even the best of care.  If you would like your “bad” shoulder to start feeling like a “good” shoulder again, make an appointment today and feel better now.