‘Shoulder pain’ Archives

Physical Therapy Tips to Decrease Shoulder Pain

posted on December 6th, 2011, by . Comments Off posted so far.

Shoulder pain is very common. And with all of the motions occurring at the shoulder it should not be hard to understand why. Shoulders help you reach up and down, forward and back, side to side and all directions in between. With all of that wonderful mobility comes a greater chance for injury.

One common shoulder problem we see in the clinic is called impingement syndrome. An impingement syndrome, is caused by a repeated pinching or compressing of the rotator cuff (the stabilizing muscles of the shoulder) and/or of the bursae (a cushion between the bones and muscles).

Impingement syndrome is characterized by pain/soreness in the shoulder, which is often exacerbated by overhead activities like painting, throwing, or lifting. Impingement syndrome occurs as a result of mechanical issues such as muscle imbalances, weaknesses and poor postures.

To improve your shoulder mechanics, and decrease shoulder pain assess and address the following issues:

1) Weak upper back muscles: The muscles on the back of your shoulder and between your shoulder blades are very important to proper shoulder function. Often these muscles are weak and de-conditioned leading to muscle imbalance and faulty mechanics. Strengthen these muscles to decrease shoulder pain and promote better shoulder function.

2) Poor sleeping habits: Sleeping on the involved shoulder or on your stomach can contribute to impingement pain. Avoid sleeping with your arm up under the pillow, or with your body weight directly on the shoulder to decrease impingement symptoms.

3) Poor sitting or standing posture: Often our lifestyles lead to poor posture. The more rounded and tight your shoulders get from sitting at the computer, driving,  or slouching on the couch, the more out of balance you get.  Poor posture can significantly hinder your shoulder mechanics. Focus on your sitting and standing postures by reminding yourself to squeeze your shoulder blades back several times a day and working on core strengthening exercises. By improving your posture you will decrease shoulder pain.

Finally, many people ask about bone spurs. Bone spurs are areas of excessive calcification that develop as a result of the stresses you put on your shoulder. These occur over time and are often present in the shoulder region.  Bone spurs can compromise the space for the rotator cuff muscles and contribute to an impingement condition. However, in many cases, by improving shoulder strength, posture, and the mechanics of the shoulder girdle bone spurs can be made insignificant.

The important thing to note is that with attention and a well planned physical therapy exercise program shoulder impingement can be handled conservatively.

If you have shoulder pain try the above. If these don’t work, call us, for a  free consult.

And if would like to get more tips like these, just follow Baudry Therapy on Twitter or Like Baudry Therapy on Facebook.

Photo: Lux Alptraum

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filed under Shoulder pain.

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Ask Rich Series – Sleeping Postures

posted on September 27th, 2011, by . Comments Off posted so far.

I received this question in response to my post on Neck Pain- Physical Therapy Can Help:

Rich,

I have some issues with my neck/back that usually only disturbs me in the morning. I’m guessing the reason is how I sleep at night.

Blake,

Thanks for the comment. Sleeping postures can certainly affect and even cause painful pathologies. When you think about it you can certainly understand how sleeping in any one position for 6-8 hours could present a problem. Try holding your arm behind your back or completely extended overhead for even 10 minutes and see how it feels. The most common problem areas that I see with sleeping are in the shoulder, neck, and back. Generally, I advise people to avoid end range stress on their joints by maintaining a relatively neutral spine. This can be achieved by taking a number of measures including the following:

1) Avoid sleeping on your stomach, or with your arms overhead.

2) Use a pillow that supports your head by keeping it from a twisted or bent position.

3) Get a new mattress. If your mattress sags or is lumpy it’s probably the time for a new one.

4) Avoid sleeping in the same position all of the time.Vary your sleeping positions, preferably on either side or on your back.

5) Use extra pillows to support your body in neutral positions, to avoid extremes of motion in the neck and shoulder.

6) If you must sleep on your stomach use a pillow under your hips.

Here are a few pictures for good sleeping postures.

For more tips like these, follow Baudry Therapy Center on Twitter or like Baudry Therapy on Facebook.

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filed under Aches and Pains, Back pain, Neck pain, Shoulder pain.

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Keep Your Shoulders Strong With These 3 Exercises

posted on September 20th, 2011, by . Comments Off posted so far.

Shoulders are incredibly mobile joints. And as such they are capable of amazing things like throwing a baseball, rowing a boat, and even lifting a child in the air. But with the mobility comes the vulnerability to pain and injury.

To work properly shoulders must stay strong. To keep them strong and healthy try these 3 great shoulder exercises:

Attach your tubing to a secure structure between waist and shoulder height. Start by standing tall in a staggered stance position. Hold both handles of the sportscord. Make sure to pinch your shoulder blades together and hold your stomach in for better form.

Exercise #1

1) While keeping your arms straight, pull both of your arms out to your sides, to form the letter “T” with your body.

Exercise #2

2) The next exercise is a “Y”. With the arms straight, pull the cords up and out to form the letter “Y” with your body.

Exercise #3

3) The third exercise is a “I”.  With the same stance pull both arms back and down by your sides to form the letter “I” with your body.

Repeat each exercise for 10-15 repetitions focusing on your posture, and slow controlled motion. You might start with 1-2 sets and 2-3 times per week.

There should be no pain with any of these exercises. If there is pain, you should stop the exercise. This is an indication that the resistance is too strong, your technique is bad or you have a shoulder problem and you should come in for a physical therapy consultation to find out more specifically what would help your shoulders.

For more information on shoulder exercises, please contact our office.

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filed under shoulder exercise, Shoulder pain.

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Spring Into Tennis

posted on March 18th, 2011, by . Comments Off posted so far.

As the weather improves, you might be thinking of playing a bit of tennis. Tennis is a very active sport requiring dexterity, strength, and mobility. While necessary for good play, these qualities are lost when you are inactive; and, with the cold winter weather, many of us have lost a step or two over the past few months.

To prepare your body for it’s return to tennis you should focus on some key areas of fitness.

1.  Strength

Strength is important for any sport as lack of strength leads to weak play. Shoulder strength is a key for injury-free tennis. The dominant shoulder takes a beating with tennis. Strengthen your shoulders with some sport cord exercises. Focus on the back of the shoulder muscles as these muscles are at a big disadvantage with swinging motions. With a simple sport cord, these are easy to do at home or at the courts. The following video demonstrates a few sport cord exercises.

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Hip and ankle strength are vital to your ability to cover the court. Beneficial leg exercises to prepare you for tennis include leg press, toe press, and lunges in all directions (forward, backward and lateral).

When strength training use moderate to heavy weight with slow, controlled motion. Without a doubt improving your strength will improve your ability to play tennis while decreasing your risk for injury.

Strength, mobility, and coordination of lower body movement is vital for you to play your best game of tennis.

2.  Mobility and Coordination

Tennis involves quick changes in directions, starts and stops, and ups and downs. To ready yourself for spring tennis, work on your footwork. Warm-up drills such as cariocas, high knees, skips, and line drills, will help shake off the rust and prepare your body for action on the court. A combination of arm and leg movements will give you a complete kinetic workout. The following video provides a few examples of a good pre-game warm-up.

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Starting cold on the courts may not only be frustrating and discouraging, but can leave you vulnerable to injury. Don’t be sidelined while your friends are playing tennis. Start now and get physically ready to play. Before a match take 15 minutes to include these warm-up drills on the court.

Disclaimer: The information provided on Baudry Therapy Center ’s website and blog is presented for information and educational purposes only. This general information is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical condition nor to replace diagnosis or treatment by your healthcare professional. Before beginning light or moderate intensity physical activities, we encourage you to talk with your healthcare provider about health and exercise as part of your everyday routine. Baudry Therapy Center and it’s respective agents, heirs, assigns, contractors and employee’s will not be held liable for any injury incurred or exacerbated while performing any exercises, stretches, or any other activity related to the content and information available on this website.

filed under Athletes, Exercise, Recreational Activities, Rotator cuff, Shoulder pain, Sports injury, Tennis.

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Self Assessment: Muscle and Tendon Strains

posted on November 9th, 2010, by . Comments Off posted so far.

By Rich Baudry, PT, DPT, OCS

We recently received an inquiry asking how to tell if you have pulled a muscle or torn a tendon without having to undergo an MRI.

First of all, let me begin with a basic description of the relationship between muscles, tendons and joints. Tendons attach muscles to the bones. A muscle/tendon unit crosses a joint to enable movement around the joint. Contraction of a muscle pulls on the bone through it’s tendon in order to create movement of a joint. As such, when someone suffers a muscle or tendon tear they will have difficulty generating pull or force to move the joint.

When an injury occurs to a muscle or tendon, pain will be felt when it is stretched and/or when resistance is applied to that structure. When stretching and resisted testing elicits pain in the tested muscle/tendon unit, you most likely have suffered an injury to the involved muscle or tendon. The severity of the injury will be known by how much pain and weakness are noted with testing. If you have no ability to resist or contract a certain muscle action you may have a complete rupture of a tendon.

If you have pain in or around a joint that hurts when you are in certain positions but does not necessarily hurt with resistance to the muscle, you may have a joint, ligament, or other structural problem.

This understanding of muscle and tendon testing can be applied to muscles throughout the body. However, please note that this is an over simplified example of muscle/tendon testing. If you think you have had a muscle/tendon injury–or any other injury–you should  have it checked by a medical professional early on. Your medical professional will be able to clearly identify the source of the injury and establish an action plan to promote a speedy recovery. When taken care of promptly, most muscle/tendon injuries respond well, getting you back in the game quickly.

Conversely, while waiting it out sometimes works, it often delays healing and leads to unnecessary residual limitations that can come back to haunt you later on. These limitations become harder to treat and take care of the longer it goes unattended. So be sure to treat your injuries as soon as possible in order to avoid long-term consequences.

Thanks so much for your questions. We value your feedback and please keep them coming!

filed under Aches and Pains, Athletes, Exercise, Recreational Activities, Shoulder pain, Sports injury, Tennis.

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