Osteopath for Shoulder Problems
Shoulder problems are common and can be quite disabling and occur “out of the blue.
Some common diagnoses are Rotator Cuff tendinitis, tears, impingement, bursitis and frozen shoulder.
Each of these conditions often require a step by step approach often beginning with calming down the reactive phase, working on body mechanics and leading to rehabilitation. They also have varying degrees of longevity. Frozen shoulder has one of the longest healing phases, even when the pain is gone , the decreased range of motion that began, can linger for months after.
With most of the causes above, we have pain on raising the arm above the head, brushing hair, doing up a bra etc. This is the result of impingement.
Impingement is where the tendon or the bursa (fluid sac that acts as a cushion) becomes thickened when inflamed and they become compressed between the bones when the arm is in certain positions, especially overhead activities.
This can lead to the region becoming dysfunctional. You stop using the arm and it becomes weak and stiff.
Long term poor posture is a common initiating factor. It can result in slow tethering and/or irritation that can one day result in the “out of the blue” pain occuring.
So what we do as Practitioners
- Calm down reactive phase and we will advise on the most appropriate course of action
- Treat the biomechanics that may be some of the causative factors.
- Advise on the best rehabilitation protocol to “wake up” the stabilising muscles of the shoulder girdle.
We sometimes may refer for diagnostic Ultrasound so we can pinpoint the exact cause and rule out other pathology like tears.
