Shoulder pain Treatment at Oakwood Physiotherapy Clinic in Enfield, Southgate
With shoulder pain, everyday activities that you try to do with your arm can become restricted or painful. This can interfere with work, hobbies and sport.
Shoulder pain is a common problem and is usually a condition that responds well to treatments such as physiotherapy or osteopathy.
Shoulder pain can sometimes be confused with upper arm pain. This is because the shoulder joint and the tendons and other structures around it typically send pain into the upper arm, so many shoulder pain sufferers think instead that they have arm pain.
The first thing we check with shoulder problems is that your shoulder is really the problem, rather than the neck or upper back that may be sending pain to your shoulder or upper arm. Our trained Chartered Physiotherapists and Osteopaths carry out this assessment when treating you, which is essential in deciding the treatment programme that’s best for you.
Why Oakwood Physiotherapy Clinic for your Shoulder pain?
Highly qualified and experienced staff who continuously update their training and knowledge through courses and in-house training
Professional yet caring and friendly environment, with well-equipped treatment facilities
Choice of male or female therapists
Advice and exercises tailored to you to help you stay fit and healthy beyond treatment
Open six days a week including evenings
Hands-on treatment which can accelerate your recovery – relieving muscle and joint problems through massage and joint manipulation.
Common causes of Shoulder pain
A common cause of shoulder pain we see is poor posture. This can lead to both neck and shoulder problems as this drooped posture with the head dropping forwards puts enormous strain on the body. The muscles at the back of the neck and across the shoulders will often feel tight and the shoulder often develops problems too.
If your shoulders droop forwards, this is another postural problem which causes shoulder pain, making you especially prone to shoulder impingement.
Common Shoulder pain conditions that we treat
Shoulder impingement
Shoulder impingement is when the rotator cuff tendons – tendons which wrap around the shoulder joint to hold it stable – become inflamed due to overuse, poor posture, or injury. This leads to shoulder pain when lifting your arm, particularly when reaching out to the side or behind your back. This condition responds well to physiotherapy and osteopathy – with a mix of remedial massage, ultrasound, and specialised exercises and postural corrections.
Frozen shoulder (capsulitis of the shoulder joint)
This condition usually starts gradually with minor aches developing into stronger pain, especially at night if you lie on the affected shoulder. This worsens over several weeks until the arm cannot be lifted very high, with more severe short bouts of pain also occurring.
Frozen shoulder is characterised by three stages:
- The initial phase of predominantly pain
- Pain and stiffness
- Stiffness only
Our physiotherapists will advise you on the best course of action following an examination of your shoulder. Sometimes a cortisone injection in the early stages is helpful, which we can refer you for. An alternative to this is the use of specialised trigger point massage treatment which some people respond well to.
In the later stages, when the shoulder is more stiff than painful, our physiotherapists can teach you carefully graded stretching regimes to aid recovery, and make reaching, dressing and stretching upwards more comfortable again.
Arthritis of the shoulder
More common in the older patients, shoulder arthritis is characterised by a lack of movement in raising the arm, as well as sounds of grinding in the joint when moving the arm which can be quite disconcerting. Your shoulder joint may ache, especially at night or in the morning or when using your arm.
Our physiotherapists and osteopaths offer many helpful treatments including remedial massage, electrotherapy, acupuncture, heat treatments, gentle hands on manipulation, and essential strengthening exercises. These treatments are aimed at reducing pain and maintaining shoulder movements.
Neck problems masquerading as a shoulder problem (“trapped nerve”)
It is not uncommon to find that the pain someone is feeling in their shoulder and upper arm is actually coming from their neck. The nerves that run from the neck down the arm can become inflamed at their “root” near the spine and this causes the shoulder and arm to hurt.
Frequently, people will notice symptoms such as tingling or mild numbness in their arm or fingers on that side as well as the pain. Our physiotherapists and osteopaths will concentrate treatments on the neck for these issues, which are often very effective.
Other shoulder conditions we treat
There are many other conditions that cause shoulder pain which our physiotherapists and osteopaths are trained to assess and treat, including:
- Bursitis (small fluid filled sacks in the body tissues which act as buffers but which themselves sometimes become inflamed)
- Strains of the tendons, ligaments and muscles
- Shoulder joint sprain from a fall or accident
- Shoulder joint instability where loose ligaments (hypermobility) cause pain
- Sports injuries specific to an individual’s sport i.e. pain with overhead shots in badminton, rowing, or leaning on arms
Which treatments at Oakwood Physiotherapy Clinic would help?
When you contact us we will advise you on the best person to see; we have a team of therapists and may recommend a particular therapist who is specialised in treating your condition.
Chartered Physiotherapy for shoulder pain
At Oakwood Physiotherapy Clinic, we commonly treat many different types of shoulder pain and are well-placed to help you with any issues you may be having.
Our physiotherapists will firstly carefully assess your problem, and then treat shoulder conditions with a variety of treatments which include:
- Massage and manipulation
- Electrotherapy
- Individually prescribed exercise programmes
- Advice on rest and activity levels
- Acupuncture
- Heat and ice treatments
- Posture correction
During treatment we aim to find the cause of your pain, whether it is poor posture, bad lifting or handling techniques or sports technique, to ensure you remain pain-free in the long term.
Osteopathy for shoulder pain
Our osteopaths are trained to an extremely high standard in the treatment of shoulder pain. With an emphasis on hands-on treatment, your osteopath will assess your shoulder pain in relation to your whole body. They will assess you carefully and provide a range of treatments for you including expert joint manipulation and massage when required.
Your osteopath can adjust your treatment according to your preference, as some people prefer very gentle techniques.
As well as their expert hands-on treatments, our osteopaths may also provide these additional treatments:
Cranial osteopathy
Sometimes cranial osteopathy is included in shoulder pain treatments. This is a light, gentle treatment which can be very helpful especially if you have a history of injury – such as a fall, or if you are elderly or sensitive.
This treatment involves very light touch of the body, often the head and spine as well as the area of pain. It is a very comforting and relaxing treatment and for some people provides good pain relief.
Ultrasound treatment
your osteopathy may provide ultrasound treatment for your shoulder pain – a soothing, gentle treatment that complements hands-on treatments.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture may also be suggested, which can boost the pain relieving benefits of osteopathy treatment.
Are you ready to recover? Get started with our professional care and treatment for your Shoulder pain.
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