What Causes Shoulder Pain?
Shoulder pain issues can be a pain in the neck, literally. It can be caused by a multitude of different factors and conditions. Shoulder pain can manifest as an ache, sharp pain, swelling, tightness and/ or weakness. This type of pain can happen anywhere along your neck, shoulder, and into your arm or fingers.
One of the most common shoulder pain is due to rotator cuff tendinitis, where one experiences swollen, inflamed, tendons. This condition can be a source of referral pain into the base of your neck. Shoulder misalignments from a sleeping posture, or odd movement can also cause shoulder pain.
Why Does This Happen?
Your shoulder is the most mobile joint in the body. We use the joints daily. And with so much repetitive motion, it can cause impingement around the rotator tendons. Surrounded by nerves, and rich with blood vessels, these irritations and impingements will cause swelling which will then cause pain.
- Work Station: Lately, we see an increase in shoulder issues due to the work from home situation. As the ergonomics at home is not conducive, the posture can also affect one's neck and shoulder region. This will then cause neck, shoulder and arm pain.
- Sleeping Posture: Choosing a proper and supportive pillow is also important if you favour sleeping on your sides. If the pillow is too low, or too high, it will aggravate the shoulder and can cause further strain and impingement on the muscles and tendons.
Other types of shoulder pain include impingement syndrome, frozen shoulder, subluxation, strains and spasms from overexertion, and joint instability. Shoulder pain may also be the result of another injury, typically in the neck or biceps. Known as referred pain, this pain usually does not worsen with shoulder movement. If you are unsure what is going on with your shoulder pain, a consultation with the Chiropractor will be able to set you on the right path to recovery.
Symptoms of Shoulder Pain
Shoulder pain symptoms vary depending on the condition you may have and these can include:
Intense pain in the shoulder joint, front, or back, and upper arm
Loss of range of motion in the shoulder
Difficulty moving the shoulder
Weakness of the shoulder, upper arm or hand
Tingling or numbing sensations, which are most likely associated with the neck’s nerves
Deformed shoulder joint
Swelling in the shoulder
How can Chiropractic help Shoulder Pain?
Diagnose the right condition for a personalised treatment
It is extremely common for people to seek chiropractic care for shoulder pain in Singapore. A proper diagnosis and consultation is first needed to administer the correct personalised treatment.
Our chiropractors will assess the cause and severity of the shoulder pain with a physical assessment during the consultation. In addition to the physical exam, we'll look into your past medical history and any recent X-ray results available to pinpoint the cause of the shoulder pain. Determining the source of the shoulder pain is essential to recommend the right method of treatment and rehabilitation. The treatment for your shoulder pain will be customised to your condition and these options can include:
Chiropractic Adjustments
To decrease pain and improve range of motion in your shoulders.
Ultrasound
Increases blood flow and reduces inflammation while promoting healing in tears, sprains, and strains.
Active Release Therapy
Usually applied for patients with chronic pain issues to treat the soft injury tissue by breaking the adhesions.
Trigger Point Therapy
Using an isolated finger pressure to “deactivate” the trigger points and alleviate the pain.
Myofascial Release
Relaxes contracted muscles and releases the fascia that covers the muscle.
Electrotherapy (TENS machine)
TENS help to block the transmission of pain signals along the nerves and also release the body’s natural painkillers, endorphins.
Providing long-term care as your healthcare partner
Whole-Body Treatment Approach
Our chiropractors adopt a whole-body treatment approach to evaluate your pain areas as a whole because other regions of the neck (cervical), mid back (thoracic) and low back (lumbar) may be affected as well. We aim to treat the “whole person,” not just to treat your specific symptoms.
Advice on Posture, Exercises, Diet and Nutrition
In order to treat the root of chronic pains that are recurring over time, our chiropractors seek to understand your lifestyle and work demands so as to provide personalised patient-centric care and advice over a longer time horizon as your healthcare partner.
