Chiropractic care can help reduce shoulder impingement pain and improve mobility and posture. Patients suffering from shoulder impingement live with persistent pain and a lack of mobility. Your chiropractor can create a personalized treatment plan that addresses your shoulder impingement and promotes your body’s natural healing.
If you have suffered from shoulder impingement, a chiropractic care team can help you get the relief you deserve and start you on the road to a better life.
Understanding Shoulder Impingement
Shoulder impingement occurs when the bones or tendons in and around the rotator cuff are pinched when you move your arm at your shoulder. These pinched tendons lead to pain and inflammation of the tissues and affected nerves. Common causes for this condition include:
- Repetitive overhead activities
- Falls
- Sports injuries
- Poor posture
- Any injury that narrows the space around the rotator cuff
These injuries are classified into one of three types of shoulder impingement. They are:
- Rotator cuff tendinitis: The swelling or irritation of the four tendons in the rotator cuff
- Shoulder bursitis: Inflammation of the fluid-filled sac, known as the bursa, located between the tendons of the rotator cuff and the shoulder blade bone acromion
- Acromion deformity: Irritation caused by a curved acromion pinching your rotator cuff
Symptoms and Diagnosis of Shoulder Impingement
Symptoms of shoulder impingement include:
- Tenderness
- Stiffness
- Swelling
- Redness
- Audible cracks and pops when moved
- Pain radiating from the front to the side of the arm
- Difficulty sleeping
Shoulder impingement is determined through physical exam and imaging. Your doctor may order X-rays, MRIs, and ultrasound to identify the extent of your condition. Your doctor may also perform some physical tests to determine your pain level and range of motion, such as:
- Lifting your arm over your head
- Reaching for items in front or behind you
- Laying on your side
Shoulder impingement can cause varying degrees of pain and discomfort, significantly impacting your daily life. This condition can make even simple tasks challenging and painful.
If you suffer from such pain and discomfort, chiropractic care could offer an alternative healing process that is non-invasive and allows the body to heal itself.
Benefits of Chiropractic Care for Shoulder Impingement
Chiropractic care offers numerous benefits for those suffering from shoulder impingement. It can offer an approach that not only alleviates pain but also promotes overall wellness. Here are some key benefits of choosing chiropractic care for shoulder impingement:
Non-Invasive Treatment
Surgical intervention is an option for treating shoulder impingement in some cases, but it is not the only option available. In most cases, rest, ice, and physical therapy can provide you with healing without causing more injury to your body. Chiropractic care avoids the need for invasive procedures or medications, offering a natural path to healing.
Pain Relief
Medication is an option as well, but the use of drugs may only mask the pain and never really treat the cause of pain in your shoulder. Through precise spinal and shoulder adjustments, a chiropractor can relieve the pressure on affected tendons, reducing pain and inflammation. By reducing the pain and inflammation, your body can naturally heal from its injuries.
Improved Mobility
In addition to pain, patients suffering from shoulder impingement have difficulty moving their arms, fighting against resistance caused by swelling or pinched tendons. By restoring proper joint function through a means of retaining joints, bones, and your spine, chiropractic care helps enhance your range of motion, allowing you to move more freely and comfortably.
Personalized Care
One approach to all is never good practice. Though the symptoms may be the same, each client is unique and requires a unique treatment plan that addresses their condition. Your chiropractor will create a treatment plan that is specifically tailored to your condition and needs, ensuring the most effective and individualized care.
Prevention of Recurrence
In addition to treating the pain now, your chiropractor can provide you with options to reduce the chance of you experiencing this debilitating condition again. They can create a healthcare regiment that includes strengthening exercises and posture correction, which help prevent future occurrences of shoulder impingement.
Holistic Health Benefits
Healthcare goes beyond strength and stretching. You can request aid in creating a complete lifestyle change. Your chiropractor can promote overall health and well-being, addressing not just the symptoms but also the underlying causes of your discomfort.
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How Chiropractors Can Help With Shoulder Impingement
Chiropractors employ a multifaceted approach to effectively treat shoulder impingement. Here’s what you can expect during your treatment:
Comprehensive Assessment
Before anything is done, your chiropractor will begin with a thorough evaluation of you, not just your shoulder. They will request a detailed medical history and conduct a physical examination. This assessment will help them pinpoint the exact cause of your shoulder impingement, the severity of your condition, and any ancillary healthcare concerns that they can address with you.
Before your appointment, you should:
- Collect any medical records you may have in your possession regarding your shoulder impingement and general health
- Make a list of all the medications you are presently taking
- Make a list of any procedures and surgeries you have had in the past, including dates
- Record the names and contact information of your primary doctor and any specialists you have seen
- Eat lightly
- Dress comfortably in loose-fitting clothing
- Have a list of questions you want to have answered regarding your condition and the options your chiropractor could provide
The more prepared you are before meeting with your chiropractor, the better they can assist you and explain what you can expect from their care.
Customized Treatment Plan
Based on the assessment, your chiropractor can then develop a personalized treatment plan tailored to your specific needs and goals. Your plan may include a combination of:
- Chiropractic adjustments
- Therapeutic exercises
- Lifestyle recommendations
Your treatment plan should address your shoulder impingement, promote healing, and prevent recurrence. You should feel comfortable asking questions and setting expectations and boundaries with your chiropractor.
Chiropractic Adjustments
Your chiropractor can employ gentle chiropractic adjustments to help realign the joints in your spine and shoulder to reduce pressure, promote better joint mobility, and reduce pain and inflammation. For example:
- Spinal alignment: Correcting misalignments in the spine, particularly in the cervical and thoracic regions.
- Shoulder adjustments: Direct adjustments to the shoulder joint itself to enhance joint mobility, reduce inflammation, and return range of motion.
- Improving joint function: Regular adjustments help maintain the health of the shoulder joint by ensuring it moves correctly within its natural range.
- Pain relief: Adjustments can provide immediate relief from pain by reducing nerve irritability and improving blood flow to the affected area.
- Enhancing muscle balance: Chiropractic adjustments can help balance muscle function by ensuring proper alignment and nerve supply, which supports better muscle coordination and strength.
Soft Tissue Therapy
Your chiropractor may also recommend techniques such as massage, myofascial release, and trigger point therapy to relax and heal the surrounding muscles and tissues. These therapies can enhance circulation and accelerate the healing process. Your massage could be administered by a licensed massage therapist, or they can teach you self-massage therapy techniques.
Ultrasound Therapy
Chiropractors may also employ ultrasound therapy to treat your shoulder impingement. Using a device that produces sound waves, the waves will massage the affected tissues around your rotator cuff, causing the muscles to relax and inducing circulation, which can reduce swelling and pain.
Electrical Muscle Stimulation (E-STIM)
Unlike ultrasound therapy, electrical muscle stimulation, or E-STIM, uses a device to send electrical pulses into the affected tissue. E-STIM is an excellent option to treat the inflammation associated with shoulder impingement. The electrical pulses are small and harmless, but they cause the muscles to contract and release, which in turn helps circulation. The improved circulation brings fresh blood and nutrients to the affected area and promotes healing.
Rehabilitative Exercises
An option to help reduce the recurrence of your shoulder impingement is developing a strength and stretch training program for your shoulder and whole-body health. Your chiropractor can guide you through specific exercises designed to stretch and strengthen your rotator cuff and shoulder muscles. These exercises could improve flexibility, stability, and support, which could prevent future impingement.
Postural Correction
In addition to overuse and accidents, poor posture also contributes to shoulder impingement. Your chiropractor could assess your posture, identify areas of improvement, and provide advice and exercises to correct postural imbalances. Implementing these corrections and exercises could help you develop a better alignment and reduce strain on your shoulder.
Ongoing Support and Education
Probably the most important aspect of your chiropractor’s service is educating you on your healthcare options. By empowering patients with knowledge, they can make informed decisions about the treatment and healthcare they can pursue. Throughout your treatment, your chiropractor can offer education on proper body mechanics and lifestyle changes to support your recovery and overall health.
Your chiropractor’s goal should be to provide you with comprehensive, effective, and compassionate care to help you overcome shoulder impingement and return to your daily activities pain-free. To learn more about your chiropractor, review their testimonials page to see what their clients have to say about them.
Call Specific Care Chiropractic for the Treatment of Your Shoulder Impingement Today
Call Specific Care Chiropractic today through our number. Our team of doctors can assess your shoulder impingement and provide you with a treatment plan that promotes self-healing through non-invasive techniques. We can also help you create a long-term lifestyle change to improve your overall health.
Reach out to us today. You deserve to feel better and stronger.
