Shoulder Pain: How Chiropractic Care Can Help
Patients are often surprised to learn that we work on extremities. We do! We quite regularly see patients for all sorts of things outside of the spine, from hands to feet and everything in between.
Let's talk about the shoulder a bit.
The Shoulder Is More Complex Than Most People Realize
The shoulder is one of the most common extremities we see, and also one of the more complicated ones. There are actually four joints in the shoulder complex, and about 30 different muscles that interact with the shoulder in some way.
A quick side note on the rotator cuff: it's not some exotic piece of shoulder anatomy. It's actually just four muscles that work together to help hold the "ball" in the "socket." A rotator cuff tear can occur in any one of those four muscles. They can heal just like any other strained muscle, and a rotator cuff tear diagnosis does not automatically mean surgery.
Finding the Source, Not Just the Symptom
When we work on shoulders, we try to determine what part is the symptom source (where the pain is) and what part (or parts) is causing the problem. These two things are often not the same thing. If one of the joints in the shoulder is not moving properly, it may force another joint to move differently, causing pain there. Or the altered joint function might force a particular muscle to either have to work harder than it should or become pitched in some way. For this reason, we can't just follow the pain.
What If There's an Actual Injury?
In some cases there may be a tear or joint sprain. At that point, there is no chiropractic adjustment that will make it not injured. But we can still improve the function of the shoulder complex and optimize the environment around that injury, which will usually speed healing and reduce pain. We also employ modalities such as cold laser, dry needling, and myofascial release to help speed healing of injured tissue.
The Spine's Role in Shoulder Pain
The spine plays a role here too. Improper motion or curvature in the neck and upper back can negatively affect shoulder function. For this reason, we usually adjust the cervical and thoracic spine when treating shoulder issues.
A Team Approach
In many cases we find weakness in certain muscles and give homework exercises to help strengthen them. Sometimes it's helpful to work with a PT or trainer to assist with that part of the process. In cases where there is a more significant injury or a lot of inflammation, we may want to add an orthopedic specialist into the mix. Teamwork.
Can we fix every shoulder? Absolutely not. But we have fixed A LOT of them, and many of those cases were headed for surgery. Either way, it's always worth a look. Maybe we can help!
To schedule an appointment, give us a call or text at 205-356-7204 to get started or request an appointment through our contact form.
