Are you getting shoulder pain that is keeping you from your daily activities? Do you even get anxious about doing things because it could set our shoulder off? Are you concerned that your pain just doesn’t seem to be getting better?
“Shoulder impingement syndrome is the most commonly reported, accounting for 44-65% of all shoulder complaints. “
Pain in your shoulder can be quite debilitating and really give you grief when it’s bad enough. It is until we actually can’t use it due to pain, we realise how often we need it and how important it is to perform some of the most simplest of tasks. Most of the time with shoulder issues we just push through them until we can’t push anymore.
So what’s the deal, what’s actually going on with your shoulder?
The good news is that there are many different tests that you can do that can help determine what part of the shoulder is getting irritated and tests that can help figure out why.
One of the most common dysfunctions through the shoulder is impingement syndrome. I’m sure that you have heard this get thrown around many times without actually knowing what it means. Also associated with this people talk about “rotator cuff” issues. These are terms that get thrown around and no one truly understand what they do, mean or how they specifically work.
So, impingement syndrome is basically an ill-defined term for variety of dysfunctions that cause pain generally in the front part of your shoulder. Most people feel the pain when doing overhead activities.
It’s called an impingement syndrome because when we get dysfunctions through the shoulder tendons can impinge in tight areas around the joint. The most common impingement comes from the supraspinatus tendon on the coracoacromial arch. But why this occurs is what’s important…
The shoulder joint is a sophisticated joint that is made up of heaps of muscles all with their own role in moving the shoulder around. When you lift out arms up, you aren’t just moving the shoulder around, we’re moving our shoulder blade and also your neck. For these movements to happen smoothly there is a large team of muscles that enable these functions to happen.
For example. When we abduct our arms, we see it as the arm is moving outwards from out body. For this to happen there are stages of movement that occur. If those stages aren’t accurately fulfilled, then the movement is done incorrectly which can lead to injuries such as impingements.
I recurrently see shoulder impingement syndromes can come from many different shoulder biomechanical changes related to shoulder FUNCTION, not necessarily strength.
So, if you are not sure whether you have a shoulder impingement and want to have a better understanding here’s a couple quick tests you can try:
- Lift your arm so that its directly in front of you and have your palms facing the sky. Keep your arm perfectly straight. Have someone apply downward pressure to you palm. If there is any pain or noticeable weakness and pain, this may indicate a problem.
- Pretend to hold a soft drink in front of you with your arm straight at shoulder height. Pretend to poor the drink by rotating your arm inwards. If you notice any pinch, pain or restriction in movement then this is another indicator that there is impingement in the joint.
If any of these tests were positive and you generally get shoulder pain, then there is a high chance that you may have impingement of your shoulder. Whilst these issues can become significant when left, there’s often things that can be done.
So If this is something that you want to work on, I mean really get on top of and have your life back to normal then give the team a call on 93187758 or send me a message and I’ll arrange a time for you ASAP!
