What Causes Shoulder Pain?
Shoulder pain is often a symptom of another problem, and there are a host of potential causes:
- Frozen Shoulder: This is an extremely painful condition that reduces the level of normal movement in the joint and may actually prevent all kinds of movement in the shoulder.
- Shoulder Instability: This occurs when the shoulder is unstable and has a very large range of motion.
- Rotator Cuff Disorders: Your rotator cuff is a group of tendons and muscles that surround the shoulder joint and keep it stable.
- Acromioclavicular Joint Disorders: These are conditions responsible for affecting the acromioclavicular joint, which is the joint that can be found at the top of your shoulder.
- Osteoarthritis: If you have osteoarthritis in your shoulder joint, it can be very painful.
When Should You Get Treatment for Shoulder Pain?
The sooner you get the appropriate level of care, the quicker the pain will go, and this should enable you to resume your regular set of activities. Obviously, you don’t want to visit a doctor every time you have shoulder pain, but here are some signs you need to be treated:
- Recurring shoulder pain, even if it normally goes away on its own.
- If there are any signs of an infection, including redness, warmth, or swelling.
- If you are unable to raise your arm.
- When the pain occurs at night or if it happens when you are at rest.
- When there is a significant level of bruising around the shoulder joint.
- If the pain persists for more than a few days.
Chiropractic Treatment for Shoulder Pain
When you seek the assistance of a chiropractor, he will initially ask you questions about your lifestyle as a means of determining the best course of treatment. In order to find the cause of the shoulder pain, you will need to talk to the chiropractor about your current symptoms, previous injuries, your recreational activities, and any history of injuries in your family.
Here are some of the ways in which a chiropractor can help restore your shoulder’s health:
- Spinal Manipulation: In this instance, the chiropractor will locate the misaligned vertebrae in your neck before manually applying gentle pressure to reposition the vertebrae. After several sessions, you should notice an improvement in shoulder mobility and a reduction in the level of pain you feel.
- Anti-Inflammatory Medication: You may be given non-steroidal anti-inflammatory pain medications (NSAIDs) to help alleviate the pain, though there are natural alternatives your chiropractor may also recommend.
- Ice/Heat Application: Heat pads and ice packs are among the most commonly used methods of treating shoulder pain. However, a number of patients use them incorrectly! Be sure to discuss how to correctly administer these treatments with your chiropractor.
As mentioned above, shoulder pain could potentially be a symptom of a more serious problem. As a result, chiropractors are trained in medical diagnosis, and one of their priorities during the initial examination is to rule out any serious medical conditions. This is all the more reason to contact a chiropractor if you are suffering from serious shoulder pain.
