(214) 466-7391
The shoulder is among the most flexible joints in our body, but this great flexibility comes with a cost. Since it can move in every direction, there is reduced stability in the shoulder joint, making it more susceptible to injury and re-injury. It may take time to heal if you're recovering from a shoulder injury.
Shoulder injuries can happen in various ways. You might get injured at work if your job involves repeatedly reaching forward or overhead—like in construction or painting. Athletes could hurt a shoulder if they often perform overhead motions in sports like swimming, baseball, or volleyball. Shoulder injuries can also happen due to trauma, such as falling on your shoulder; injuries might even occur during everyday tasks like doing yard work or lifting objects.
Regardless of how your shoulder injury happens, you want to know how to improve it quickly! How do you make a shoulder injury heal faster? At Sunnyvale Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center, our team of experts can help you get on the right path to recover from a shoulder injury. Our practitioners are pleased to guide you in your recovery.
First, You must examine the shoulder joint's structure and workings to know why shoulders are easily injured. Learning about the shoulder's parts can help identify where you feel pain. If you're healing from a shoulder injury, this understanding will enable clear talks between you and your healthcare provider.
The shoulder joint (aka glenohumeral joint) is a type of ball and socket joint. The top part of the humerus (ball) fits into the glenoid fossa (socket) of the scapula (shoulder blade). The other part of the shoulder joint is where the scapula and clavicle (collarbone) come together to form the acromioclavicular or AC joint. The shoulder joint's stability depends on the nearby rotator cuff muscles (infraspinatus, supraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis) and the long head of the bicep muscle, ligaments, and labrum.
As discussed earlier, any shoulder part can be prone to injury. Knowing the symptoms and signs of typical problems can aid you in healing from a shoulder injury. Listed below are a few of the most frequent kinds of shoulder injuries.
Shoulder bursitis and impingement occur when space decreases between the tendons of your rotator cuff muscles, acromion, and bursa, resulting in a "pinch" that causes shoulder pain. The pain might worsen when raising your arms overhead or reaching behind your back.
Shoulder impingement and bursitis happen when the space between the tendons of your rotator cuff muscles, acromion, and bursa gets smaller, causing a "pinch" that results in shoulder pain. The pain might worsen when raising your arms overhead or reaching behind your back.
A tear in the rotator cuff might happen because of an injury, like falling on your shoulder or repetitive movements that cause damage over time. The tear can be either partial or complete. People with this injury often have ongoing shoulder pain, especially at night when lying on that shoulder. They might also feel pain spreading from the shoulder to the elbow and struggle to lift their arms high or reach behind their back.
A labral tear is also called a SLAP tear. The labrum lines the glenoid fossa and stabilizes the head of the humerus in the joint. A labral tear can be a sudden injury from falling with an arm outstretched, lifting a heavy object, or experiencing a dislocation. It can also lead to chronic "wear and tear" damage in people who frequently perform repetitive overhead movements. These injuries often show up as pain across the top or front of the shoulder joint, sensations of "catching" or "popping" when moving the arm forward or overhead, weakness, and nighttime pain.
Adhesive Capsulitis, also called "frozen shoulder," is a shoulder injury caused by the thickening of the joint capsule and the formation of adhesions. It causes the shoulder to be stiff, painful, and weak.
As time passes, the shoulder gradually loses its range of motion while the pain increases. The symptoms are quite similar to those of other shoulder injuries. However, recovery from Adhesive Capsulitis can take several months or even a couple of years without early treatment.
Injuries to the shoulder's acromioclavicular joint usually happen due to trauma like a fall or a hit directly on the shoulder. Symptoms of an AC joint sprain are swelling or bruising, restricted arm movement, a change in shoulder shape where it sags, or the collarbone looks higher.
A fracture can happen to any of the bony parts of the shoulder joint: the humerus, clavicle, or scapula. These injuries usually occur from a fall or a hit to the shoulder and come with pain, swelling, bruising, inability to move your arm, and sometimes a shoulder joint deformity. Doctors frequently use X-rays to confirm if there is a fracture.
Rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and post-traumatic arthritis are also conditions of the shoulder joint. These happen when articular surfaces where the joints meet become damaged because of wear and tear, inflammation, or a prior shoulder injury. These conditions can also be extremely painful and might accompany other injuries to your shoulder.
What steps should you take now that you understand the reason behind your shoulder pain? How can you begin the process of healing from a shoulder injury?
Receiving physical therapy aimed at specific muscles can prevent future injuries and lessen pain, helping you achieve better shoulder mobility. A physical therapist will lead you in exercises tailored to strengthen your shoulder muscles, building more mass to lower the chances of dislocation or impingement.
These exercises focus on various muscle groups in the upper body, such as the subscapularis and deltoids in the shoulders, the rhomboid and trapezius in the upper back, and the triceps and biceps in the upper arms.
Exercises that apply the correct pressure and movement to the shoulder are adjusted to suit your specific requirements and address every muscle group.
The specialized treatment is available exclusively during sessions with a licensed physical therapist. Performing these exercises under the therapist's guidance and continuing them at home each night is the key to strengthening your shoulders and permanently reducing shoulder discomfort.
The shoulder therapy your physical therapist recommends will depend on the details of the injury and may involve one or more of these types of treatment:
Ice therapy: The RICE method, which stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation, advises applying ice to injured areas for recent injuries. This practice decreases inflammation and swelling, thus alleviating pain.
Heat therapy: Unlike ice treatment, which is applied soon after the injury, heat treatment is most effective after 72 hours. Like ice therapy, it's also a painkiller and relaxes muscles.
Hands-on therapy: As the name suggests, this therapy involves the physical therapist easing tension in the injured shoulder. Using their hands, the therapist applies targeted pressure to the tissue, restoring some of its original flexibility.
Stretching: Stretching is often used to treat shoulder pain by gradually extending your muscles until you restore your full range of motion. Depending on the injury, your physical therapist will likely incorporate varying stretches that may target the parts of the shoulder, neck, and spine.
Strengthening: Building strength involves exercises. A physical therapist might suggest certain exercises to help decrease pain where you're injured and strengthen other muscles, such as your core muscles. The aim is to make you stronger than before the injury to avoid it happening again.
Joint mobilization: Another therapy where a physical therapist is needed is joint mobilization, aiming to enhance mobility in a hurt shoulder by stretching its joint capsule. This procedure demands a deep knowledge of anatomy, so only skilled therapists perform it.
Ultrasound: A therapeutic ultrasound, different from a diagnostic ultrasound, is a form of physical therapy used to alleviate shoulder pain by applying deep heat to muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues. The heat boosts blood flow in tissues, easing pain and aiding injury recovery. Ultrasounds can also enhance muscle flexibility, notably in frozen shoulder cases, making it easier for muscles to stretch and improving mobility range.
Electrical stimulation: Stimulating the nerves is one way to strengthen the muscles of your injured shoulder. It can sometimes contract muscles or reduce inflammation but can also be used to administer medication.
Athletic taping: During shoulder physical therapy, your physical therapist may use athletic tape in conjunction with other therapy methods, such as exercises.
Kinesiology taping: In athletic taping, the goal is restricting movement, whereas kinesiology taping promotes safe movement and enhances blood flow. Depending on your shoulder injury, the physical therapist might choose either of these taping techniques or none.
Identifying when your shoulder pain is bad enough to warrant professional medical attention can be tricky. Still, a good rule of thumb is to consult your doctor when your shoulder pain is noticeable, particularly if it prevents you from doing everyday activities. Your doctor might suggest consulting a physical therapist, but you do not have to wait for their recommendation. If professional physical therapy could help you, consulting a therapist to assess your injury is a good idea.
It's best to start physical therapy as soon as possible for shoulder pain. This is particularly important if you think you have an overuse injury, which might not show symptoms until it's more severe. Delaying treatment for a possible shoulder injury could make the condition worse over time. Prevention is often better than the cure, but with shoulder injuries, getting physical therapy sooner rather than later can prevent your injury from worsening and reduce the chances that you might need surgery.
If you delay treating an injury, it might cost you more in the future because severe injuries need extensive treatment. Also, consulting an experienced physical therapist who understands human anatomy well can effectively assist in correcting harmful habits or activities, aiding in recovery and preventing future injuries.
So, as soon as you suspect you might be dealing with shoulder pain or injury, seeking medical advice's a good idea.