Shoulder pain may require physiotherapy or surgery
Pain is always a sign from our body, from our system. Physical and psychological reasons, both, can be behind
our detected pain. Generally, muscle pain can have four causes: muscle tension, muscle weakness, muscle
cramps and lumps. The same is the case with shoulder pain as well. Therefore, prior to the treatment of any kind
of shoulder pain, the degree of the pain has to be assessed and the cause of the pain has to be investigated.
How can you prevent shoulder pain?
If the roots of shoulder pain is not any kind of serious organic or skeletal problem, pain can be easily prevented
by following a few advices:
- One of the most common reason behind shoulder pain is a bad mattress. So if you want a permanent solution, it is highly advised to buy a mattress that is easy on the joints, the spine, and the shoulders.
- Try not to sit in one position for a long time. Especially in front of your desk or a computer, as it stressful to the spine and shoulder muscles.
- Keep your most used household items on the shelves within easy reach. Because if someone is prone to shoulder pain, even with one wrong move they can pull a shoulder muscle.
- Avoid lifting heavy things and sudden movements.
- Do not read or watch TV from bed, while having to raise your head. The muscle used for keeping your head raised can easily cause serious neck and shoulder pain.
- Try to avoid long-term hand-arm vibration, such as from a power tool and full body vibration, such as from long-distance driving over rough roads.
Treatments
If the shoulder pain is less severe, the first and safest treatment will be to rest a few days to see if time will
resolve the problem. In the case of a persistent, intense pain, seek medical care as soon as possible.
Lifestyle Changes
The first and easiest treatments generally involve rest, altering your lifestyle and activities, and physiotherapy to
help you improve the injured shoulder’s muscle strength and flexibility. Always avoid overexertion or overdoing
activities, in which you normally do not participate to help prevent shoulder pain.
A physiotherapist will first make an assessment of your condition and put together a personal treatment
programme. They will then advise you on the appropriate exercises that can help ease shoulder pain and
strengthen the right muscles. They can also teach you about reducing stress in your life, as it can also be part of
physical pain. Being aware of your posture will also help prevent further shoulder pain, while physiotherapist can
also use massage therapy on the injured shoulder.
Medications
If the pain is more severe, you may seek further medical help and your doctor may prescribe medication to
reduce inflammation and pain. If painkillers are prescribed to relieve pain, it is very important to drugs be taken
only as directed.
Steroid injections may also be used to help your shoulder problems, to relieve pain.
Surgery
Although around 90 percent of patients with shoulder pain will respond to simple treatment methods described
above, certain types of shoulder problems will not benefit from easier treatments. Such as recurring dislocations
and some rotator cuff tears, in these cases surgery may be the only solution to relieve pain.
Shoulder surgeries can involve arthroscopy to remove scar tissue or repair torn tissues, or traditional, open
procedures for larger reconstructions or shoulder replacement.
Researches into developing better and better ways of treating shoulder pain are taking place all over the world, at
several medical centres.
