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Shoulder Pain Treatment In Ramsey, NJ

Conditions Shoulder Pain Treatment Chiropractor Ramsey, NJ

Have you been dealing with shoulder pain? You’re not alone – 70% of people experience shoulder pain at some point in their lives. The shoulder is the most mobile joint in the body, making it susceptible to injury, and because of how many muscles attach to the joint, it’s easy for muscle problems to develop.

The shoulder is a “ball-and-socket” joint – in essence, it’s a giant ball that fits into the inner part of the shoulder. Although very useful, that joint can easily get worn down, causing pain that can refer to the remainder of the arm. Shoulder problems can also be from another connected area, such as the neck or upper back. That’s why poor posture is a common cause of shoulder pain – putting other areas under stress causes the shoulder to do more work than it wants to.

If your shoulder pain is due to joint misalignment, the problem won’t subside until the misalignment is addressed; chiropractors specialize in this. Other causes of shoulder pain include stress, osteoarthritis, trauma, and repetitive motions. It’s important to note that finding the root cause of the problem is essential to properly treating and managing your shoulder pain. Let’s take a look at what Chiro Health Spa can do to help get your shoulder back in order!

How We Treat Shoulder Pain in Ramsey, NJ

When it comes to shoulder pain, it’s essential to find not only the daily aggravators but the underlying reasons for chronic pain as well. Our protocol consists of:

Comprehensive Consultation and Exam

We will sit down with you to dig into your history, as many clues come from that discussion. It’s a two-way conversation, as we’re listening intently but providing feedback along the way. During the exam portion, we’ll check things like your shoulder’s range of motion and upper body muscle strength and perform several orthopedic and neurological tests to see where you are compared to normal. This helps us identify exactly how your shoulder pain is affecting your overall health.

Computerized Posture Analysis

Your neutral standing posture is one of our most important tools for analyzing where your shoulder pain is coming from. We take pictures of you from the front and side, and by placing digital reference points on your pictures, we can see in seconds where your body is under the most stress from poor posture. Most people are amazed at what they really look like!

Specific Chiropractic Adjustments

Several joints make up the shoulder. It’s important to identify the joint (or joints) causing the joint restriction and perform adjustments to restore motion and reduce pain. Gradually the shoulder gets more freedom of movement, allowing its function to improve. Improving this alignment with chiropractic adjustments can significantly reduce the frequency and intensity of shoulder pain.

Custom Therapeutic Exercise Plan

Full recovery from shoulder pain can’t fully occur if there is muscle weakness or imbalance. The key is finding the right balance between stability and mobility. If your muscles have been fighting a bad neutral shoulder posture for many years (maybe even exaggerated by long hours at a computer), getting them strong is a priority.

We often find people with shoulder pain present with limited range of motion in not just the shoulder but the neck as well. Therefore, we start by increasing flexibility. Once your range has improved, we can focus on building your strength. It takes consistency, so we give you a customized exercise plan for both in-office and at home to ensure you can keep aggravating episodes to a minimum, both in frequency and intensity.

Cervical Spinal Decompression

Occasionally, a bulging or herniated disc may cause shoulder pain in your neck, putting direct pressure on very sensitive nerves that run through the front, side, and back of the shoulder. In these cases, spinal decompression is a highly effective therapy that gently pulls your head away from your shoulders. This allows the neck muscles to relax while relieving the disc pressure on your nerves that run to the shoulder.

As with exercise, consistency of decompression is vital to change muscle patterns that have been set in for a long time. But the results, in conjunction with spinal adjustments and your customized exercises, can be significant.

Electrical Muscle Stimulation

In the initial stages of care, we want to reduce muscle spasms and tension in the shoulder. We use electrical muscle stimulation to accelerate that process, allowing you to feel better and alleviate the stiffness often associated with shoulder pain. Most people say e-stim feels like a light massage and often comment on how much looser they feel afterward.

Red Light Therapy

Red light therapy, also known as photobiomodulation (PBM), reduces pain, decreases inflammation, and speeds up the healing process. It’s a gentle, soothing warmth that feels great. Treatments last 5-10 minutes on average and can kickstart the body’s ability to break through old pain and inflammation patterns much more quickly.

Posture Rehabilitation

If your shoulder pain improves but your overall head and neck posture is still poor, the likelihood of having relapses is high. Putting in a plan to create and stabilize good posture is key to having the longest-lasting results. We’ll utilize various forms of therapy to put your posture in the “mirror image” – essentially, the exact opposite posture you currently have. (Let’s face it – that posture isn’t helping you, or you wouldn’t have shoulder pain!)

By performing mirror image exercises and traction, your body will gradually learn the “correct” posture. Each time, in-office and at home, your body goes into the mirror image, it’s another signal to the brain, your bones, and your muscles to dump the old, harmful patterns and create new, stronger patterns. Posture may be the most overlooked aspect of shoulder pain; there’s no way a weak head and neck posture can help you get better.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture can help remove negative energy and restore positive energy throughout your body. By focusing on specific points and zones in your body, endorphins (the “feel-good” hormones) get released, triggering a positive response throughout the body.

Acupuncture has been used for both acute and chronic shoulder pain and can be very beneficial on its own or in conjunction with chiropractic and postural rehabilitation.

Supplements and Other At-Home Remedies

Certain nutritional supplements may be worthwhile depending on the cause of your shoulder pain. However, each case is different, so your nutritional recommendations may differ from someone else you know with shoulder pain. We often recommend topical gels or ointments to relieve muscle tension and reduce pain. Some of our recommendations can even be purchased in your local grocery store or health food store.

Lifestyle Changes

Given that we work 8-10 hours a day and sleep 6-8 hours, we better be in a suitable posture for that amount of time! You must know how to sleep and sit at your computer, and just as important as knowing what not to do. Sometimes simple shifts make the biggest differences, especially when it comes to your daily habits. We’ll make sure you understand what those shifts are to avoid injury and get the best results in our office.

Common Causes of Shoulder Pain

Shoulder pain comes in many different styles. Remember, shoulder pain is common but not normal. Here are a few causes we see most frequently:

Cervical (Neck) Disc Problems

Discs are like shock absorbers between the bones of the shoulder. Think of them like jelly donuts, with a thick outside (“annulus”) and a soft, gel-like inside (“nucleus”). Discs wear down and dehydrate over time and frequently cause two stages of problems – bulging discs and herniated discs.

In a bulging disc, the thick outer fibers begin to tear, and the soft gel inside takes the path of least resistance to get out. This causes shoulder pain which can sometimes radiate to the shoulder or arm. With disc herniation, the outer fibers tear more, and the “nucleus” breaks through the outermost fibers. A herniation frequently causes more shoulder and arm pain and more intense shoulder pain.

Bursitis

Bursae are little fluid-filled sacs in joints that, when inflamed, increase pressure within the shoulder joint and cause pain. Bursitis feels like a generalized, dull pain that can get sharp with certain movements; it can also rise and fall in intensity based on how inflamed the bursa sacs are. The shoulder has eight bursa sacs, so bursitis is a common diagnosis of shoulder pain. It’s frequently caused by repetitive motion.

Frozen Shoulder

A frozen shoulder is exactly how it sounds – a severe lockup of the shoulder to the point that the arm can only raise minimally or not at all. In a frozen shoulder, a capsule surrounding the joint contracts, which can also cause the bursa to stick together and restrict motion. Frozen shoulder happens twice as frequently in women compared to men; there is usually a previous injury combined with hormonal imbalances and a lower neck disc problem as instigating factors.

Osteoarthritis

Known as the “wear and tear” condition, osteoarthritis (OA) is a frequent contributor to shoulder pain, affecting the bones of the shoulder and the surrounding cartilage. Pain from osteoarthritis tends to be more tender than dull and often is accompanied by bone spurs or the wearing away of cartilage within the joint. X-rays can reveal how significant the bone portion of osteoarthritis is, while an MRI will show cartilage damage.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) differs from osteoarthritis in that RA is an autoimmune, inflammatory disorder that can have additional signs and symptoms throughout the body, while OA can be localized to just one joint. Rheumatoid arthritis can have multiple risk factors (such as family history and toxic environmental exposure) and can be diagnosed with a blood test.

Rotator Cuff

The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that surround the shoulder joint and hold the joint tight. It is often damaged from overuse and can be either acute or chronic pain. Rotator cuff pain does not necessarily have to come from a tear; tendinitis can also cause pain. The most telltale sign of a rotator cuff problem is pain when lifting the arm (particularly out and away from the body) and pain at night, especially when laying on the affected arm.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a chiropractor help with shoulder pain?

Chiropractors can help with shoulder pain by evaluating the shoulder joint for pain, weakness, and range of motion restriction. A chiropractor will also evaluate for any contributing factors from the neck and upper back. Chiropractors are trained to look for shoulder problems that may also require a referral to an orthopedist.

How do I stop severe shoulder pain?

In the acute phase, shoulder pain will generally respond to rest, ice, and topical anti-inflammatory gels such as arnica gel. When pain becomes more chronic, moist heat tends to be more effective, with stretches in a pain-free range of motion helping to increase circulation. Regardless of the severity of the pain, a proper evaluation is needed to confirm the reasons for the pain.

Can poor posture cause shoulder pain?

When the head is too far in front of the shoulders (ex: using a laptop computer), it strains the shoulder and upper back. Muscles holding the head are also attached to the shoulders, and nerves from the neck run around and through the shoulder joint. If you have a prior shoulder problem, poor head and neck posture will aggravate the shoulder.

How should I sleep with shoulder pain?

If you sleep on your side, avoid laying directly on the affected shoulder to prevent waking up with more pain. Rest the arm on pillows to keep it neutral and not let it fall across your body. If you sleep on your back, try putting a folded dish towel under your shoulder and hugging a pillow to avoid additional stress at night.

What could shoulder pain be a sign of?

Chronic shoulder pain can be related to osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, a rotator cuff injury, or other factors. Acute shoulder pain is frequently linked to a sprain or strain and is usually associated with an aggravating activity. A proper evaluation combined with x-rays or an MRI can narrow down the likely diagnosis.

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