Staff Writer
Doctors of Chiropractic are healthcare practitioners known for treating issues of the back and spine, including back and neck pain. Because of this specialized knowledge and training, chiropractic care – with so many non-invasive care options – can be highly beneficial in treating pain associated with the shoulders and extremities.
Tennis, volleyball, baseball, softball, swimming, football, and now pickleball are sports where shoulder injuries are common. That’s because these sports require excessive repetitive overhead motion. Still, everyday household tasks like hanging curtains, painting overhead, and gardening may also cause shoulder pain.
Some of the most common types of shoulder pain include:
Doctors of Chiropractic report that patients say a frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis) is exceptionally painful. In addition to being very painful, it can also be debilitating and disabling. It means that activities like putting on a shirt or brushing hair can turn into an ordeal. It can also cause sleep disturbance and insomnia.
Unfortunately, frozen shoulder pain can persist for years without proper diagnosis and care.
A typical frozen shoulder results in pain in or around the shoulder joints or surrounding soft tissues. Abnormal bands of tissue (adhesions) build up in the joint and keep your shoulder from moving freely.
Most frozen shoulder cases (as well as shoulder pain in general) can be related to an irritation of the nerves in the upper back (thoracic spine) and lower neck. When shoulder pain originates in the back and spinal area, chiropractic care can be highly effective for shoulder pain treatment and shoulder pain relief.
Another common shoulder problem is a rotator cuff disorder. The rotator cuff comprises muscles and tendons that keep the ball (head) of your upper arm bone (humerus) in your shoulder socket. Rotator cuff disorders can have many causes, so it happens to many people – not only Major League Baseball pitchers. Other causes of rotator cuff injuries:
Risk factors for shoulder problems include previous shoulder trauma, surgery, diabetes, cardiorespiratory disorders, cerebrovascular events ( loss of blood flow to parts of the brain), thyroid disease, and hemiplegia (one-sided paralysis or weakness caused by brain or spinal cord problems).
Arthritis of the shoulder joint can occur in numerous forms, including primary and secondary osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and crystal arthritides. Shoulder pain can also be referred from other sites, particularly the cervical spine.
Chiropractors are highly versed in various interventions for effective shoulder pain treatment and relief. Shoulder pain can be due to irritation of the nerves, tendons, muscles, ligaments, or capsule area.
Regardless of where your pain is located, you can count on your chiropractor to begin with a comprehensive physical examination and a medical history review. Chiropractic care should lead to a targeted diagnosis and determination of where the source of the irritation begins.
Sometimes, the problem is located on the cervical spine or near the acromioclavicular joint. These areas will all be carefully examined to ensure an accurate diagnosis.
Once a precise physical cause is diagnosed, an appropriate chiropractic care plan can be identified. When a manual adjustment is recommended, many patients say pain relief can happen quickly, sometimes after the first adjustment. Often, returning to previous health requires a series of manual adjustments. Your Doctor of Chiropractic will go over the recommended care plan with you.
Depending on your diagnosis, chiropractic care can include
If it is determined your shoulder problem is something that your Doctor of Chiropractic cannot treat, you’ll be referred to the appropriate medical practitioner.
Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC) is a private, nonprofit chiropractic and health sciences university in Overland Park, Kansas. For more than 100 years, our mission has been to educate and develop leaders in chiropractic and other health science professions and help people embrace behaviors to control and improve their health.
The CUKC Chiropractic Health Center is open to the public and treats patients from Kansas City’s 15-county metro area. The licensed clinicians who supervise the care of our senior chiropractic interns are leaders in the field. Our goal is to provide effective and affordable care and solutions for a better, more productive life for our patients.
