Shoulder Pain Archives

September 6, 2021

By tim.huang Chiropractic, Frozen Shoulder, Massage, Our Services, Remedial Massage, Service Areas

What Is Frozen Shoulder? Chiropractor Near Me

Frozen shoulder is (also known as adhesive capsulitis) is a common condition that develop in 40s or older. The nature of this condition is inflammation in the shoulder joint and forms massive scar tissues, which thicken the shoulder joint capsule. Less synovial fluid that reduce joint friction when moving your shoulder is found in many cases of frozen shoulder. Stiffness and pain in the shoulder joint are the main presentations of frozen shoulder.

The pain intensity and the degree of shoulder restriction gradually worsen and resolve when reaching different stages of adhesive capsulitis. Frozen shoulder is a self-limiting condition. In other word, the symptoms and signs will be self resolved even without any pharmaceutical support or physical treatment.

It is not uncommon that adhesive capsulitis can occur bilaterally, but recurrent frozen shoulder on the same side is rare. The prognosis in general is promising, but the condition can last from 1 to 3 years.

Risk Factors

Age and sex: females aged over 40 years old at higher risk develop adhesive capsulitis compared to males at the same age.

Immobility of shoulder joint: rotator cuff injury, arm fracture, stroke or post-operation may result in adhesive capsulitis due to immobilization or reduced mobility of the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint).

Systemic diseases: the list of systemic diseases below is associated with adhesive capsulitis.

Diabetes (type I and type II)
Thyroid disease (hyperthyroidism and hypothroidism)
Cerebrovascular disease
Coronary artery disease
Autoimmune disease
Tuberculosis
Parkinson’s disease
Dupuytren’s disease

There Are Three Stages For Frozen Shoulder

Freezing Stage (2 to 9 months): patients have constant shoulder pain at rest and the pain gets worse with activities and at night. The affected shoulder active and passive range of motion starts to reduce.

Frozen Stage (up to 12 months): shoulder joint becomes very stiff, but the pain only occurs with shoulder movements.

Thawing Stage (12 to 24 months): the pain and the active range of motion and passive range of motion start to improve .

How to manage Frozen Shoulder? Chiropractor Near Me

Frozen Shoulder Treatment Options

Due to reduced shoulder range of motion, daily activities are affected. Pain caused by the process of inflammation is also unbearable at some stage of forzen shoulder. The main goal is to reduce the pain and increase shoulder mobility. Treatment should be focused on the prominent of each phase.

Pain is prominent due to acute inflammation in freezing phase, so medication and steroid injection can be used to provide short term pain relief. Reduced shoulder range of motion is the most predominant in frozen phase. Physical therapy such as manipulation, mobilization and exercise can gradually increase restricted range of motion. In the last phase (thawing phase), shoulder function progressively improve and only minimal pain occurs.

The progression of fronzen shoulder may not be accelebrated with intervention. The resolution of the condition is expected from one to three years. Treatment options should be chosen according to the severity and duration of symptoms and signs, and the response to each treatment.

Conservative treatment – Chiropractor Near Me

Physical Therapy

Precribing range of motion exercises combined with chiropractic treatment are used as a first line treatment for adhesive capsulitis. Physical therapist can effectively manage frozen shoulder sufferers’ inflammation, at the same time improve shoulder pain and stiffness.

Spinal manipulation (or chiropractic adjustment), joint mobilization, dry needling, cupping and soft tissue mobilization are the most common used modalities for chiropractors to improve shoulder function and reduce pain. It is imperative to choose suitable physical therapy depending on the stage of the condition. Home exercises should Physical therapy should be considered and used prior to the invasive treatment method such as surgery.

Medication

Analgesics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and sleeping pills are used to relieve severe shoulder pain caused by shoulder joint capsule inflammation and ensure the sleep quality.

Steroid (Cortisone) Injection

Steroid is an anti-inflammatory medicine that relieves pain rapidly. Steroid injection given by a radiologist into the affected shoulder joint can provide short term relief. However, the risk of infection may be induced due to the injection.

Surgical Procedure

Manipulation Under Anesthesia/Arthroscopic Capsular Release

Surgical procedure is considered and performed when conservative management fails. Manipulation under anesthesia is to tear the thickened and inflamedjoint capsule and ligaments while arthroscopic capsular release is to release shoulder joint capsule with an ablation device. Arthroscopic capsular release is more frequently used due to providing long term symptom relief.

Chiropractic Clinic Serves Suburbs – Chiropractor Near Me

Kings Park NSW 2148

Kings Langley NSW 2147

Blacktown NSW 2148

Quakers Hill NSW 2763

Stanhope Gardens NSW 2768

Rooty Hill NSW 2766

Seven Hills NSW 2147

Kellyville NSW 2155

Marsden Park NSW 2765

Schofields NSW 2762

The Ponds NSW 2769

Rouse Hill NSW 2155

Castle Hill NSW 2154

Baulkham Hills NSW 2153

March 22, 2021

By tim.huang Remedial Massage

Remedial Massage And Shoulder Pain

Shoulder pain is the third most common musculoskeletal problem that people go to see medical doctors. The reason why shoulder pain is so common is due to its anatomical structure. The shoulder joint is the most complicated joint in the body. Frozen shoulder (also called adhesive capsulitis), shoulder impingement, subacromial bursitis, sprain, strain and tears in rotator cuff muscles are the common causes that occur at different ages.

Shoulder Joint Anatomy

As mentioned above, the shoulder joint (also known as glenohumeral joint) is a very complex structure compared to other joints of the body. The ball and socket structure allows the range of motion (or the range of movement) of the shoulder to move almost 360 degrees across different plants. It is the most mobile joint in the human body.

The rotator cuff muscles comprise four muscles that are on both sides of the scapula. They are supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis.

The movement of shoulder abduction and external rotation are performed by supraspinatus, infraspinatus and teres. The deltoid muscle assists the movement of abduction. The subscapularis muscle mainly performs internal rotation and adduction of the shoulder joint.

The stability of the shoulder joint relies on the active and passive supporting structures. All four rotator cuff muscles that are the active support contribute the stability of the shoulder joint. The shoulder joint capsule and ligaments including glenohumeral, coracohumeral, transverse humeral and coraco- clavicular ligaments around the shoulder joint are the passive supporting structure. Due to the lack of muscles in the front of the shoulder, shoulder dislocation is prone to occur anteriorly.

A bursa is a sac filled synovial fluid which works as a cushion to reduce friction between tendons and other structures. Subdeltoid bursa and subacromial bursa are located under the deltoid muscle and in the subacromial space. Subdetoid and/or subacromial bursitis due to the shoulder joint overuse and poor posture can cause shoulder restriction especially abduction, external rotation and internal rotation) and shoulder impingement.

The Common Causes Of Shoulder Pain

Due to the high mobility of the glenohumeral joint, the shoulder joint is more vulnerable than other joints. People with the poor posture that have anterior head carriage, rounded shoulders and hunchback are more likely to have shoulder pain.

The repetitive motion such as overhead movements that overuses the rotator cuff muscles can cause the inflammation of tendon (tendinitis) and bursa (bursitis). Inflamed rotator cuff tendons are more vulnerable to tear. Age over 45 year old is also more prone to rotator cuff muscle tear rather than muscle strain.

Shoulder pain is common on volleyball, baseball and tennis players. Repeated stress on the glenohumeral joint capsule during serve leads to shoulder pain. In order to increase the power and speed of serve, athletes will try to maximise the shoulder external rotation. These athletes are more susceptible to shoulder bursitis and other types of shoulder injuries.

How Remedial Massage Treatment Releases Shoulder Pain

Apart from dry needling, trigger point therapy and chiropractic care, people who are suffering from chronic shoulder pain always use remedial massage therapy to reduce chronic pain. Highly-trained remedial massage therapists will palpate the shoulder muscles and the adjacent regions including neck, upper and middle back because shoulder pain may be probably radiated from these regions.

Once the damage tissues such as immature scar tissues and myofascial trigger points are found, remedial massage therapists will focus on that area to apply different massage techniques. Kneading, rhythmic pressure, tapping and rolling are the basic massage techniques. Myofascial trigger points can be deactivated by applying certain pressure on hyperirritable spots to reach myofascial release. Remedial massage also increase blood circulation and lymphatic drainage to enhance the healing process.

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