Shoulder Pain
Shoulder pain shows up when you reach for a top shelf, lift your arm or try to find a comfortable position to sleep. Physical therapy finds which part of the joint is the problem and restores movement and strength. Joint Effort Physical Therapy treats shoulder pain in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Why this joint hurts so easily
Your shoulder has the greatest range of motion of any joint in the body. It is a ball-and-socket joint where the head of the upper arm bone, the humerus, sits in the shoulder blade, the scapula. Cartilage protects the bone ends and fluid-filled sacs called bursae cushion the tendons.
With that much movement, a lot can go wrong. Impingement hurts as you raise the arm and starts at a certain point in the range. A worn joint aches whenever you move in certain directions. A sudden injury can make it impossible to move the shoulder at all.
The most common shoulder problems we see
Rotator cuff tendinitis and tears
The rotator cuff is four muscles and tendons that guide the joint. Repeated overhead work, in sports like tennis or jobs like carpentry, plus poor posture and age, can inflame or tear it. A rotator cuff tear usually brings a deep dull ache, weakness, trouble reaching behind your back and sleep disturbed by pain.
- Tendinitis causes swelling and pain when raising the arm
- A partial tear often responds to exercise that rebuilds strength around it
Impingement and shoulder bursitis
Shoulder impingement comes from abnormal movement of the humeral head as you lift the arm, and pain is typical at or above 90 degrees. Bursitis is irritation of the cushioning sacs and often travels with it.
Frozen shoulder
Also called adhesive capsulitis, it brings painful loss of motion as the joint tightens. It can follow time in a sling or cast or long bed rest, and is more common in women between 40 and 60.
Instability, dislocated shoulder and labral tears
A dislocated shoulder or a labral tear, including a SLAP tear, leaves the joint feeling loose or catching. We rebuild the muscle control that keeps the ball centered in the socket.
Night pain and trouble lifting your arm
Two of the most common reasons people call.
Shoulder pain at night
Lying on the sore side or in certain positions loads an irritated tendon or bursa. We look at sleeping positions along with the shoulder itself.
Can't lift my arm
Pain, weakness or stiffness can all stop you lifting. Your evaluation sorts out which, and whether the neck is involved. Pain that actually starts in the neck is covered under Neck Pain.
How we evaluate and treat your shoulder
Your physical therapist examines your range of motion, strength, coordination, joint mobility, the mechanics of your joint motion and your medical history, with diagnostic tests where they are needed to tell a rotator cuff tear from other problems.
Gentle manual therapy and joint mobilization restore joint movement and ease soft tissue restrictions. Rotator cuff strengthening and scapular stabilization retrain the order in which muscles fire around the joint. Dry Needling and blood flow restriction training are added when they fit, and we teach you how to prevent the problem from coming back.
When surgery makes sense
Some rotator cuff injuries are severe enough to need surgery, and your therapist will say so if the exam points that way. In other cases a program of physical therapy is the right first step. If you do have surgery, rehab is a big part of recovery; see post-surgical rehab.
Shoulder pain also overlaps with Arthritis & Joint Pain, with Elbow Pain (Tennis & Golfer's Elbow) when the arm is involved, and with sports injuries for overhead athletes.
Related care
Shoulder pain care in Hot Springs, Arkansas
Joint Effort Physical Therapy treats Shoulder pain at our Hot Springs clinic, 1880 Airport Rd., Suite C.
Not sure whether your plan needs a referral? Call us. As a courtesy, we verify your health benefits before you arrive.
Meet the people who treat you on our team page.