Chiropractic Care for Shoulder Pain

Whether it’s a dull ache or sharp sensation, shoulder pain compromises your mobility and overall quality of life. Chiropractic treatment can assist with pain management and improving your range of motion, without the need for medication.

Sources of Shoulder Pain

The shoulder is one of the body’s most mobile joints, playing a role in how you lift your arms and hold objects.

It consists of two intersecting joints: the acromioclavicular joint, where the clavicle and shoulder blade meet and the glenohumeral joint, where the arm’s upper portion sits in the socket.

Muscles, ligaments, tendons and bursa sacs keep the bones in place and help with movement, provide support and act as shock absorbers. An area called the brachial plexus also passes through your shoulder, sending nerve signals to your shoulder, arms and hands.

Roughly 25 percent of Americans experience shoulder pain, including sporadic or constant joint stiffness. Incidents ranging from car accidents to poor posture can affect operation and integrity. Injuries affecting the shoulder include:

• Frozen shoulder, a result of tight and contracted muscle and fascia tissue around the joint that starts to restrict movement.
• Arthritis, in which inflammation wears down the joint, increases pain and can limit motion.
• Tendonitis, which typically affects the biceps or rotator cuff tendons and stems from repeat use.
• Bursitis, when the fluid-filled sacs inside the joint’s socket become irritated and cause pain with movement.
• Sprains and strains, in which the soft tissues are stretched beyond their natural positioning, can occur as a result of a sports injury, repetitive use or heavy lifting.
• Rotator cuff injuries, one of the most common types of shoulder injuries, stem from straining or tearing the related muscle.
• Dislocated shoulder, in which the humerus is pushed out of the socket joint.
• A pinched nerve, which may involve nerves passing to the shoulder or an impingement in the neck, resulting in numbness and tingling down to the hands.

How Chiropractic Can Address Shoulder Issues

Most people associate chiropractic care with the spine. However, subluxations can occur across your body. Shoulder pain might not even relate to the joint but misalignment in the neck, rib cage or back.

To manage shoulder pain, chiropractic care attempts to identify the source, improve joint mobility and address discomfort without the need for medication or invasive procedures.

Depending on the issue, a chiropractor may use a combination of the following techniques:

• Joint alignment of the clavicle, humerus and scapula bones
• Improving range of motion through articulatory and functional techniques
• Releasing contracted muscles and fascia or addressing a frozen shoulder with myofascial release
• Balancing the vertebra and relieving pinched nerves with cervical spine manipulation
• Decreasing and loosening scar tissue that may be limiting motion and causing pain
• Addressing posture issues, including rolled shoulders and slouching

Over time, routine chiropractic treatment can improve joint mobility and flexibility, decrease pain and inflammation, as well as muscle tone and weakness. Working on positioning and strength can also help reduce risks for future injuries.
 
Are you currently struggling with numbness, pain or reduced shoulder mobility? Contact our team at The Chiropractic Health Center of Glastonbury to schedule an appointment!