If you’re suffering from shoulder pain, a physical therapist can help. In this video, we will discuss how.

My name is Dr. David Geier – orthopedic surgeon, sports medicine specialist, and anti-aging and regenerative medicine expert. I help you feel, look and perform your best, regardless of age or injury.

The shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint. It’s one of the most complex joints in the body, with many bones and muscles attached to it. The shoulder has tendons that attach muscles to bone, ligaments that hold the bones together, and cartilage between the socket (glenoid) and ball (humeral head).

The rotator cuff consists of four separate muscles: supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis. They work together to stabilize your shoulder when you lift something heavy or rotate your arm outward from its resting position against gravity so that you can reach over your head with ease.

Shoulder pain can be caused by many things.

Shoulder pain can be caused by many things, including traumatic injuries such as falls. Injury to the shoulder can also be caused by overuse or repetitive motion.

Injuries that cause shoulder pain include:

  • Rotator cuff tears
  • Biceps tendonitis
  • Labral tears

A physical therapist can evaluate your shoulder and determine the best treatment plan for you.

A physical therapist will help identify the cause of your pain, as well as any physical imbalances or muscle imbalances that may be causing it. They can also develop an exercise program to help improve function in your shoulder, which may include stretching exercises, strengthening exercises, range-of-motion exercises, and more.

The physical therapist will also use their hands to feel for areas of tension and tightness in the muscles around your shoulder. They may ask you to perform certain movements while they observe how you move, as well as ask about other symptoms that may be associated with shoulder pain (such as neck pain).

Your physical therapist might use a variety of techniques to evaluate your shoulder including:

Range of Motion Testing – This involves measuring how far each joint moves through its range of motion by using a tape measurer or goniometer (a device used by physicians). Your PT will determine if there are restrictions at any point during this process by comparing measurements taken before treatment begins with those taken after treatment ends.

Strength Testing – This can involve several different types of strength tests including grip strength tests; rotator cuff strength tests; scapular stabilization exercises such as scapular retraction/protraction, static holds against resistance bands; arm elevation exercises using weights held up against gravity as well as various other upper extremity muscle activation drills.

Lateral Shoulder Stability Tests – These involve side-lying positions where patients raise arms overhead while lying on their sides

Active Release Techniques – These involve soft tissue mobilization techniques often used in conjunction with manipulative therapies

Treatment options may include range-of-motion exercises, manual therapy techniques and strengthening exercises

Range of motion: A physical therapist will work with you to loosen up your shoulder joint by stretching the muscles around it. This can be done by gently moving your arm through its full range of motion while keeping it in line with your body.

Manual therapy techniques: A physical therapist may use special tools such as gliding discs or foam rollers to apply pressure on various parts of your body.

You will be given a home exercise program to help guide you through treatment while working with your therapist. These exercises will help you maintain and increase your shoulder’s range of motion and strength between physical therapy sessions. Eventually you can transition to just doing the exercises on your own, after you have finished formal physical therapy.

A physical therapist can help treat shoulder injuries and encourage recovery by helping you develop an appropriate recovery plan

Physical therapists can help you develop an appropriate recovery plan. They will work with you to identify the cause of your pain and determine whether there are any underlying issues that need to be addressed.

Physical therapists are trained to identify these kinds of problems so they can be treated effectively through exercise programs focused specifically on improving range of motion while reducing pain. A physical therapist will also look at how well each individual muscle works together with other muscles during movement; if one set isn’t working properly because it’s weak compared with others nearby (called muscle imbalance), then he or she can work with you to correct it as well.

And if a physical therapist senses that you have damaged a tendon or ligament or other structure in your shoulder that needs to be addressed by an orthopedic surgeon, he or she can recognize that fact and send you to the appropriate specialist.

Conclusion

If you are suffering from shoulder pain, it is important to see a physical therapist to determine the best treatment plan for you. A physical therapist can help treat shoulder injuries and encourage recovery by helping you develop an appropriate recovery plan.

We are looking for 5 patients with shoulder pain who want to get significantly better in the next 30 days, without cortisone shots, physical therapy, or surgery. Click this link and enter the term ‘Interested’ in the description box to learn more.