What Causes Shoulder Pain?
You don’t have to shoulder the burden of shoulder pain and stiffness on your own!
Assessing the painful shoulder for rotator cuff tendinopathy or impingement signs.
At Keilor Road Physiotherapy we have a special interest in the treatment of shoulder pain and associated conditions.
Shoulder pain and injury are common and those suffering with shoulder symptoms present to us from all walks of life, from the elite athlete to the weekend warrior, from sporting adolescents to the elderly shoulder. Regardless of which category you fall into, every person presenting to Keilor Road Physiotherapy with shoulder pain and symptoms is assessed and rehabilitated through an individually tailored approach to help maximise their recovery.
The shoulder consists of some unique mechanics, developed as humans needed to be able to reach above head height. It needs to be strong, yet be incredibly mobile at the same time. The shoulder is theoretically made up of three joints:
The gleno-humeral joint, or the ball and socket joint, as it is most commonly known. The ball and socket provides the movement and stability to the shoulder girdle. The rotator cuff tendons hold the ball into the socket.
The acromio-clavicular joint, or most commonly known as the AC joint. This is the bony articulation between the collarbone and the shoulder blade.
The scapula-thoracic joint, although not a true joint (as there is not a true bony linkage), the shoulder blade swings on the rib cage - acting like a joint.
Shoulder pathology can be complex and may present with various symptoms and contributing factors. These are often misdiagnosed and if treated generically as “shoulder pain”, without a clear sense of diagnosis, individualised treatment and rehabilitation progressions, recovery times can become prolonged and residual pain, dysfunction and understandable frustration can result.
Conditions that can result in shoulder symptoms that our expert physiotherapists can assist with include:
Rotator cuff tendinopathy/ tendinitis, including Supraspinatus Tendinopathy
Bicep Tendinopathy / Tendinitis
Shoulder Bursitis
Shoulder Instability / Dislocations
Multidirectional Instability
Adhesive Capsulitis or “Frozen Shoulder” * Labral tears and Bankhart Lesions
AC Joint Injury or Dysfunction
Shoulder Laxity
Cervical , or neck referred pain
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Brachial Plexus Neuropathies
Postural driven pain, including poor sitting and sleeping postures
Fractures
Arthritis
Throwers Shoulder and Winging Scapula
Post Surgical Rehabilitation:
Sub Acromial Decompression * Rotator Cuff Repair
Bicep Tenodesis
AC Joint Stabilisation
Labral Repairs
Assessing the painful shoulder for signs of instability, following shoulder subluxation or dislocation.
Having some idea of the complexity of what can be involved in shoulder pain, you don’t want to leave your shoulder rehabilitation to chance.
Our physiotherapists at KRP have Post Graduate training in the diagnosis and management of simple to complex shoulder conditions and work closely with doctors, sports physicians, rheumatologists and surgeons to ensure the best outcome for your shoulder condition. Exercise and strength based programs are functional and goal based, targeted to the case at hand.
Each case is assessed to best evidence based practice and each program is individually tailored, so whether you are getting back to high level, high performance sporting activity or you want to simply be able to hang the washing out or sleep comfortably, you can rest assured - KRP has you covered.
Keilor Road Physiotherapy are the experts at diagnosis and management of simple to complex shoulder conditions to provide relief. Servicing Niddrie, Essendon, Airport West, Keilor & Melbourne’s Northern suburbs for over 40 years, you can book with one of our highly trained shoulder team below or call 93794557 to speak to one of our admin superstars.
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Article by
Emily Irvine | Physiotherapist
Emily graduated with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Hons) from Monash university in 2020. She completed her thesis looking at the role of strengthening exercises on chronic neck pain.
Emily’s love of sports rehabilitation developed from her years of representing Victoria and Australia in Trampolining.