Shoulders alignmnt, movements, postural issues, and solutions

Shoulder control and stabilisation

Shoulder pain

The shoulder is dedicated to the orientation of the hand in space. It is very mobile and stable at the same time, however this joint is very exposed to sports injuries and/or pain related to daily activities engaging it.

WHY DO I HAVE SHOULDER PAIN?

Your shoulder pain can have many causes:

• The consequence of a trauma, when the pain follows a sprain, a tear, a dislocation, a tendon
  rupture or a fracture.

• Inflammation of the rotator cuff: this is the most common cause of shoulder pain; it can
  develop through a natural wear effect linked to aging, or following repeated movements, linked
  to a sport you practice or your professional activity.

• Shoulder instability caused by your sports practice: some sports favor the appearance of
  shoulder instability, in particular those which involve throwing or arming, ie volley ball,
  handball, tennis, disc throwing) . Even if you are young and healthy, these activities can
  eventually lead to pain.

• An inflammatory or degenerative pathology of the shoulder, such as osteoarthritis or
  rheumatoid arthritis

• Bursitis (inflammatory lesion of the bursae)

• Calcification of the rotator cuff tendons.

SYMPTOMS OF SHOULDER PAIN

If you suffer from shoulder pain, it can be accompanied by other symptoms which are not always limited to the shoulder itself. The most common ones are:

• More or less intense pain in the shoulder, present with effort, during some movements and
  sometimes even at rest.
• Radiation of pain in the arm, or even the hand in some cases.
• Shoulder stiffness.
• Swelling (edema).
• Decreased shoulder mobility.
• Decreased arm strength.
• Functional alterations of the shoulder capacities and sometimes of the arm, which would generally affects your daily life.

HOW OUR SESSIONS WORK FOR YOUR SHOULDER PAIN?

Your doctor may have prescribed physical therapy sessions to correct your pain. The objective of shoulder rehabilitation is multiple; it is mainly:

• Pain relief.
• Gradually mobilise and strengthen the painful shoulder.
• Healthy articular amplitude recovery.

Functional rehabilitation is therefore an important part of the work, which can take place:

• In addition to your conservative medical treatment.
• Pre surgery preparation.
• Post shoulder surgery: if you have had an operation, rehabilitation is essential to recover
  good mobility.

This rehabilitation can take place in the clinic with the help of massage therapy, manual therapy, other physical therapy techniques to reduce pain and improve the range of movement.

Then begins the actual rehabilitation, by a work of passive mobilization of the shoulder, then of active mobilization, so that you can regain normal sensations and movements.
Our therapists will also teach you how to rehabilitate yourself, by repeating certain exercises to do at home, and adopting the right movements to prevent symptoms. We work with respect of medical guidelines (prohibition of certain harmful movements, need for painless rehabilitation).

WHAT ARE THE CONSERVATIVE TREATMENTS FOR SHOULDER PAIN?

The medical treatment of chronic shoulder pain is based on:

• Joint rest.
• Removal of inappropriate movements.
• Taking medication to relieve pain: your doctor may prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or analgesics.
  

Some rare cases may justify resorting to surgery:

• When there is an acute rupture of the rotator cuff, following a trauma.
• For other pathologies, in case of failure of conservative treatment.

DIAGNOSIS OF SHOULDER PAIN AND ADDITIONAL EXAMINATIONS

Following your pain, our specialists are able to find the cause of your pain and make a diagnosis, they will carry out a clinical examination of your shoulder, supplemented by an interrogation.
The questioning aims to qualify your pain and know your history:

• Possible trauma, and if his shoulder is stressed a lot at work or in sport.
• To locate and identify the pain, is it inflammatory, mechanical or nocturnal?
• Associated symptoms such stiffness, inflammation and/or functional impairment.
  

The clinical examination of both shoulders allows:

• To look for a loss of muscle tone.
• To test all the tendons.
• To measure muscle strength.
• To evaluate the mobility of the shoulder in the different anatomical planes.
• To measure the articular amplitudes.

This first diagnosis already gives an idea of the lesions that can explain the pain. Additional examinations are then carried out to confirm these hypotheses.
For a shoulder chronic pain, we can ask you to perform x-rays, in some cases ultrasound or MRI may be indicated. The imaging assessment can confirm the diagnosis to guide you towards the right treatment.

                                                                                                    DONNOT LET PAIN RUIN YOUR LIFE