Shoulder Pain is one of the things I work to prevent in my practice. Our lifestyle of sitting hunched forward on our phones makes everything in the front shorten and tighten. This means that a tendon getting tighter and tauter can start pulling on your back muscles or the muscles in the side of the neck. There is essentially a tug of war between the front and back side of the body. It can get really nasty when you throw in some stress, gardening, or extra lifting and one of the muscles around your scapula CRAMPS! OH NO! Suddenly we go from mild discomfort to an extremely painful situation where it’s hard to figure out where to put your arm.
For many this begins in a mild way. If you sleep wrong pain in your shoulder can wake you. If you lift something wrong you might notice a tight spot. We usually think it will resolve to ourselves at this stage. And sometimes it does! But sometimes it starts to progress to a place where you cannot get the arm comfortable in any position or you cannot move it – a condition called frozen shoulder. It can be one of the most painful things we experience that is really not as bad as it feels.
Typically once we get the muscle to release and add a little more magnesium to the diet things can resolve in 1-3 treatments.
A shoulder issue is very common and right here in my office is actually a great first choice for care!! Treating it sooner can help keep the issue from heading into frozen shoulder.
When I look at the back muscles, if I see tightness or swelling and puffiness, it can indicate that we are not healing and repairing our tissues correctly.
My favorite treatment for shoulders is face up and face down, so I suggest scheduling the 90 minute session. ALL the muscles need to relax at the same time for an effective treatment. I like to start face up and relax the neck and shoulders down toward the table and cup them, then flip over and find the muscle that is TOO TIGHT and causing the pain and release it.
The celluma, my light therapy device, is great at adding to the anti-inflammatory effect of the needles and of course herbal formulas like Channel Flow (herbal ibuprofen!) and magnesium are always useful when there is stress and tension.
Any tendency to injury is a warning to the body to slow down and focus on taking preventative actions, eating better, and getting proper rest so that our body can heal. If you are exercising hard, you need to take a break and give the body room to heal.
We want to empower you to take positive action for your well-being!
I hope to see you soon! Schedule your appointment today.
Photo Courtesy of Maxim Ilyahov on Unsplash
