Shoulder Pain

Shoulder pain could be due to a soft tissue injury or bone and joint damage. If your painful shoulder isn’t improving despite sensible home care, visit Mohamed Hablas, DPT, and the expert team at Outreach Manual Physical Therapy PC in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach neighborhood in New York City. They use advanced treatments to reduce shoulder pain and restore function in patients with arthritis, rotator cuff tears, frozen shoulder, and other painful shoulder problems. Call Outreach Manual Physical Therapy PC to arrange an appointment or book a shoulder pain consultation online today.

What might cause shoulder pain?

Shoulder pain usually stems from damage or deterioration affecting the joint structures, which include the following:

• Scapula (shoulder blade)
• Humeral head (ball-shaped top of your upper arm bone)
• Glenoid (socket in your shoulder blade)
• Clavicle (collarbone)
• Acromioclavicular joint
• Labrum (cartilage lining the glenoid)
• Rotator cuff (muscles and tendons surrounding the joint)

The shoulder joint also has numerous nerves and blood vessels that could suffer from damage or disease.

Sports injuries, slip-and-falls, work or driving accidents, and incorrect lifting techniques can damage these structures, causing acute shoulder pain. Overuse and aging often cause gradually worsening shoulder pain. You could also develop a bone or joint disease that causes pain.

What are some common shoulder pain conditions?

Common causes of shoulder pain the Outreach Manual Physical Therapy PC team treats include:

Arthritis

Arthritic conditions can affect any joints, but osteoarthritis is the most common shoulder complaint. It develops slowly following many years of wear-and-tear that erodes the protective articular cartilage. The bone ends rub together and create friction, triggering inflammation, pain, weakness, and stiffness that gradually worsens.

Rotator cuff injuries

Overstretching the rotator cuff could cause your muscles and soft tissues to tear. Repetitive strain can cause long-term inflammation, and subacromial impingement syndrome might develop if a rotator cuff tendon becomes trapped in the joint.

Rotator cuff injuries often happen during shoulder dislocation. Joints weakened by rotator cuff tears and/or dislocations can develop instability, dislocating easily and repeatedly. This could lead to conditions like cuff tear arthropathy.

Frozen shoulder

Frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis) typically develops after shoulder immobilization — for example, having your arm in a sling or cast. The joint seizes from lack of use, so movement is difficult and painful.

Does physical therapy ease shoulder pain?

Yes — in fact, it’s among the most effective and reliable treatments for joint pain. The Outreach Manual Physical Therapy PC team offers a range of shoulder pain treatments. Depending on your condition’s cause and severity, you could benefit from one or more of the following:

• Stretching and strengthening exercises
• Ice and heat therapies
• Therapeutic ultrasound
• Joint mobilization
• Electrical stimulation
• Trigger point therapy
• Kinesiology taping
• Laser therapy
• Therapeutic massage

These therapies increase blood flow to the damaged tissues, encouraging healing and helping you to improve your strength and flexibility. 

Call Outreach Manual Physical Therapy PC to arrange a shoulder pain evaluation, or use the online booking feature to schedule a consultation today.