Like most things in life, your shoulder only works at its optimum level if you look after it!
Did you know that the shoulder is one of the most flexible joints in the human body? 😮
Crazy, right?
Especially considering how many people suffer from shoulder pain and stiffness. But like most things in life, your shoulder only works at its optimum level if you look after it 👆🏻 I’m going to take you through some common types of shoulder pain, and what could cause them 🤔 I’ll also provide some pain-relieving exercises to try out yourself 🙌🏻 However, if the pain is persistent, or if it feels worse when doing the exercises, please rather get it checked out first! ⚠️
Rotator cuff pain –
What it feels like: This feels like a dull pain on the outer end of your shoulder. It may feel worse as you lift your arm away from your body.
What causes it: The most common cause is the inflammation of the tendons in your shoulder 😳 This can result from lifting something heavy (how big is your glass of wine, exactly 🍷), or a direct injury from a fall or accident.
Frozen Shoulder –
What it feels like: This pain can radiate from a dull ache in your shoulder to the muscles that wrap around the top of the shoulder and down the upper arm. It gets its name, Frozen Shoulder 🥶 💪🏻 , from the tightness and stiffness you feel in the area. It also limits your range of motion. Starting off with mild discomfort, the pain from this injury can worsen over time, with pain at night making it difficult to get comfortable. Anything that prevents sleep, besides a baby, is a no-go in our books! 👶🏻
What causes it: Like rotator cuff pain, this is also caused by inflammation, but of the tissue surrounding the joint. A frozen shoulder is often the result of the joint being, well, frozen. You may have gone through a period of limited movement 🚷 – perhaps while recovering from another shoulder injury, a stroke or inactivity in general – and the tissue around the joint may have thickened, causing inflammation and inability to move your shoulder correctly.
Impingement Syndrome –
What it feels like: If you feel pain in the front of your shoulder that worsens when you lift your arm or reach for something in front or behind you, then you may be suffering from Impingement Syndrome 😥
What causes it: This syndrome results from the top of your shoulder blade rubbing or pressing against the rotator cuff beneath it. A rotator cuff injury (explained previously) most often causes Impingement Syndrome. The result is swelling that limits the space between the joint and the shoulder blade – making the two parts get up, close and too personal ❤️❌
So what can you do to ease your shoulder pain?
Here are some quick and easy exercises to try to ease the pain. If they aren’t quick because you are battling to do them… or easy because they bring about more pain, then STOP 👮🏻, Evaluate and Listen! This is not a Vanilla Ice song 🧑🏼🎤, but icing the joint wouldn’t be a bad idea either, while you make an appointment with a specialist (ahem, us) to help you through this 📞
● Finger-walking up the wall
Stand so that your shoulder is about 60cm away from the wall.
Raise your arm to shoulder level and gently ‘walk’ 🚶🏻 your fingers up the wall (like you would expect a spider to do).
Go as high as you can and pause for a few seconds. Now walk them right back down again.
Repeat three times, each time moving slightly closer to the wall than the one before.
● Shoulder Rolls
*Note: these are not Ninja rolls! 🙅🏻♂️
Stand as straight as the Queen’s Guard and relax your arms at your sides.
Shrug your shoulders up towards your ears as far as they will go, then roll them back down again.
Repeat a few times until you start to feel the tension ease.
● TheraBand abduction exercises
Using a TheraBand, stand on the end of it with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Relax your arm to the side while holding the other end of the band with your palm up.
Raise your arm in a jumping jack motion – SLOWLY , though! – pulling the TheraBand as you go.
Raise your arm as far as it can go without experiencing pain.
Repeat three times on each side 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
We hope that these exercises help you deal with your shoulder discomfort and pain – or assist in rehabilitating an existing shoulder injury. Let us know if the pain is not easing, and we can set up an appointment with you. Call 01245699152 ☎️
