About Shoulder Pain
Shoulder pain can cause a lot of suffering to the patient. The cause may come from the Spine, or from the Shoulder itself that consist of several different structures, such as:
- Joints and articular cartilage
- Muscles
- Tendons
- Lingaments
- Bursa
- Articular Capsule
- Bones
Prolonged and instense pain, is usually because of two or more affected structures above.
Characteristics of Shoulder Pain
Shoulder Pain can be of small intensity in particular movements or even unbearable at rest. It is important for assessment, to determine whether it is caused by movement, which particular movements, how long does it take for pain to stop, or if it is present at rest. It is also importnt to determine, if there is pain during night. Shoulder Pain may appera with the charactristics below:
- Acute
- Like stabbing
- Like a hit
- Like burning
- Like electricity
- Superficial
- Deep
- Mild
- Continuous
- Interrupted
How can shoulder pain be relieved?
When shoulder pain arises, immediate actions that can be taken include:
- Resting the hand and avoiding activities that trigger the pain
- Applying ice to the shoulder in the painful area for 15-20 minutes, 2-3 times a day. The ice should be wrapped in a towel.
- Performing gentle range-of-motion exercises for shoulder, elbow, wrist, and fingers to maintain hand flexibility
Differential Evaluation of Shoulder Pain
Evaluation by the Physical Therapist in necessary for detecting other potential pathologies that coexist, such as:
- Shoulder dislocation
- Shoulder impigment
- Frozen shoulder
- Supraspinatus tendinopathy
- Calcific tendonitis
- Bursitis
- Articular Pathology
- Fracture
Evaluation by Othropedic Physical Therapist Konstantinos Danalis is done by taking your medical history and history of the clinical condition, by clinical trials and a test therapy that follows.
How can Physical Therapy Help with Shoulder Pain?
During treatment the immediate concern is the cease of pain, which can be very acute in certain cases. This is achived through a combination of interventions, such as specialized massage and electrotherapy, which can be effective in any case. Then passive and active kinesiotherapy, with also specialized exercises is applied. Gradually, with the increase of shoulder range of motion, a set of exercises is introduced to strengthen the muscles of scapula and realign the joint, increasing the subacromial space and averting future deterioration of the clinical condition. The interventions used are: