The shoulders are the pillars of the human body because they balance our bodies appropriately. The shoulders are socket joints formed by an arm bone or humerus, shoulder blade, and collar bone or clavicle. Several ligaments facilitate supporting a shoulder and some muscular attachment for the movement of the shoulder.
The shoulder complex has the most significant mobility of all joints.
The shoulder is an exceptionally mobile joint, permitting individuals to move in several directions: abduction, adduction, rotation, flexion, extension, and internal and external rotation.
When Do You Need to Start Therapy for Shoulder Pain
Knowing when to start physical therapy that helps treat shoulder pain is a prime concern. The inherent lack of stability within the shoulder makes it prone to injury and pain. The shoulder pain quickly abolishes once you make your shoulder mobile. If you feel shoulder pain due to trauma like a car accident or slip and trip, in that case, you have to seek medical care immediately. Do not wait for spontaneous recovery at home; visiting a medical professional is significant if the pain lasts more than two weeks. Shoulder pain recovery can be executed under a physical therapist's guidance. In this article, we will discuss shoulder therapy to relieve the pain.
Causes of Shoulder Pain
There are several causes of your shoulder pain. It can be caused by regular activities such as swimming, lifting overhead weights, playing baseball, throwing a ball, etc. Causes are not limited but can happen in many forms. Poor sitting and lying posture sometimes could place stress on the shoulder and lead to pain. Some important and common causes are mentioned below for shoulder pain.
Instability of a Shoulder
· Shoulder instability happens once the shoulder slips from its place or dislocates. It happens most frequently in young people and athletes. The shoulder usually becomes unstable once your muscles hold a long stretch more than its capacity. This condition might be a standard part of growth and development for young people.
Rotator Cuff Dislocation
· The rotator cuff is a combination of four muscles, usually called SITS muscles, namely, Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres minor, and Subscapularis, responsible for different shoulder movements. The muscles are connected to the bones with the support of tendons. The role of muscles is to move the bones. The tendons in the rotator cuff enable muscles to move the arm. Unfortunately, if the tendons of the rotator cuff tear, the arm bone will not move smoothly within the socket, making it tough to move your arm in any direction from the body.
Frozen shoulder
· When your shoulders are stiff, it may be a symptom of a frozen shoulder. It happens to anyone at any age. According to research, about 2 percent of Americans between forty and sixty years face such issues.
Strains
· Strains due to carrying heavy weights and wrong postures caused shoulder pain. It can affect your back as well. Physical therapy helps in recovering from strain. Appoint your physical therapist to assist you in the recovery of pain.
Therapy for Treating Shoulder Pain
Treating shoulder pain can be simple, but sometimes it can be challenging. Rest for a short period (2-3 days) is recommended during the shoulder pain. During this duration, you can apply ice on the injured shoulder to assist in controlling inflammation, which provides relief. Put Ice on your shoulder for a maximum of 10-20 minutes. You can begin light exercise if recommended by the physical therapist. If you keep moving your arm and shoulder slowly, you may be prevented from having frozen shoulder pain—a list of ROM exercises that should be performed for rotator cuff recovery.
· Shoulder Flexion and extension
· Shoulder Abduction and adduction in side lying
· Standing shoulder external rotation
· Standing shoulder internal rotation
· Elbows Bend
· Clockwise and anti-clockwise arm rotation
· T, Y, I movements
· Wall crawler with external rotation
Shoulder Exercises. These exercises help you move the shoulder in different directions with a full range of motion. You should do exercises for 12 weeks with 10 to 12 reps for each exercise. Perform 3 to 4 exercises daily, twice a day. Shoulder stretches can improve the movement of the shoulder and the motion of joints, which enhances the strength of the rotator cuff muscles. Strength exercises you should perform:
· Shrugs
· Rope pully exercises
· Lateral raises
· Inverted rows
· Turkish get up
· KettleBell plank drag
You can perform 2 or 3 different exercises on alternate days, with ten reps for each exercise.
Rotator Cuff Rehab Program 1: Week1-3: Rom exercises:
· Shoulder Flexion and extension
· Shoulder Abduction and adduction in side lying
· Elbows Bend
· T, Y, I movements
Week 4-9: Rom exercises:
· Shoulder Flexion and extension
· Shoulder Abduction and adduction in side lying
· Elbows Bend
· T, Y, I movements
Week 10-12: Rom exercises:
· Shoulder Flexion and extension
· Shoulder Abduction and adduction in side lying
· Elbows Bend
· T, Y, I movements
Week 1-3: Strength Exercises:
· Shrugs
· Inverted Rows
· Rope Pulley Exercises
Week 4-9: Strength Exercises:
· Shrugs
· Inverted Rows
· Rope Pulley Exercises
Week 10-12: Strength Exercises:
· Shrugs
· Inverted Rows
· Rope Pulley Exercises
Rotator Cuff Rehab Program 2: Week 1-3: Rom exercises:
· Clockwise and anti-clockwise arm rotation
· Wallcrawler with external rotation
· Standing shoulder external rotation
· Standing shoulder internal rotation
Week 3-6: Rom exercises:
· Clockwise and anti-clockwise arm rotation
· Wallcrawler with external rotation
· Standing shoulder external rotation
· Standing shoulder internal rotation
Week 9-12: Rom exercises:
· Clockwise and anti-clockwise arm rotation
· Wallcrawler with external rotation
· Standing shoulder external rotation
· Standing shoulder internal rotation
Week 1-3: Strength Exercises:
· Lateral raises
· Turkish get up
· KettleBell plank drag
Week 3-6: Strength Exercises:
· Lateral raises
· Turkish get up
· KettleBell plank drag
Week 9-12: Strength Exercises:
· Lateral raises
· Turkish get up
· KettleBell plank drag
Conclusion: The shoulder injury can be sudden but very painful. However, it should be treated because otherwise, the scenario becomes worse. Some tests are performed for the injured shoulder; afterwards, the treatment starts to relieve the pain. Shoulder physical therapy would be the best option to cure this severe pain.