Shoulder Pain

What is the shoulder?

The shoulder is made of three different bones that connect your arm to your torso. These bones are your humerus (upper arm), scapula (shoulder blade), and clavicle (collar bone). These bones along with the labrum, muscles, tendons, and ligaments make up what you know as your shoulder.

The shoulder’s range of motion is the largest of any joint in your body, which allows you to perform complex actions such as swinging a golf club or throwing a ball. However, the complex nature of the shoulder that allows this range of motion can also lead to injuries and instability.

What kind of issues cause shoulder pain?

• Inflammation

  • Inflammation can affect the muscles, tendons, or bursa of the shoulder

  • This can be due to an acute trauma such as catching yourself from falling

  • Inflammation can also be caused by mechanical stress over time due to improper strength or flexibility

• Instability

  • With the shoulder’s huge range of motion, instability is a common problem

  • Weakness or injuries in the stabilizing muscles and ligaments are common causes of shoulder pain

  • An example of an injury to a stabilizing muscle is a rotator cuff injury

  • An example of an injury to a stabilizing ligament is a separated shoulder (AC separation)

Arthritis

• Arthritis in the shoulder can happen in many forms, but the most common cause is osteoarthritis

• This can be due to repetitive stress from improper loading or bad mechanics

• Arthritis can cause restricted and painful movement, which can lead to other conditions such as frozen shoulder

How can shoulder pain be treated?

While there are many different treatments for shoulder pain, we use conservative care for shoulder pain in this office. The treatment for shoulder pain varies significantly for different diagnosis, but the most common treatments used in this office are:

1. Strengthening exercises

2. Flexibility increasing stretches

3. Spinal and extremity manipulation (adjustments)

4. Dry Needling and acupuncture

Next Steps

If you’re experiencing shoulder pain in Sioux Center or the surrounding Northwest Iowa area, you can call our office at (712) 717-5101 or you can schedule your appointment through our convenient online schedule. We would like to see what we can do for your pain!