Overview

Many patients come to us for pain relief. Treatments such as heat, ice, electric stimulation and ultrasound (modalities) can be helpful in the treatment of acutely inflamed and irritated tissues, but we believe it is more important to identify and treat the reasons why your tissues have become inflamed and irritated to begin with. For this reason, we examine the entire body to identify and treat not just the pain, but also the source of the pain.

Shoulder:

The shoulder joint plays a major role in completing daily tasks at home and at work such as bathing, dressing, lifting, and reaching in multiple directions. An injury to the shoulder has a large effect on your daily function and can lead to a decrease in the strength of your arm and hand. Listed below are a few of the types of injuries that most commonly occur in the shoulder:

1. Rotator cuff tear: A tear can occur in the one or several of the muscles that control shoulder motion. This can be caused by direct trauma to the shoulder or by performing repetitive movements that pinch the cuff muscles which over time can cause irritation of the muscle and eventually lead to a tear.
2. Rotator Cuff Tendonitis: One of the most common causes of shoulder pain that occurs due to inflammation of the rotator cuff tendons in the shoulder joint.
3. Biceps tendonitis: Inflammation of the biceps tendon caused by overuse or misuse of the tendon during shoulder motion between other structures in the joint
4. Osteoarthritis of the shoulder: Damage to the cartilage in the shoulder joint due to trauma or instability that leads to bone on bone contact and causes pain.
5. Shoulder Instability: Excessive shoulder motion, common in young athletes, leading to pain with certain movements and fear of dislocation.
6. Frozen Shoulder: An inflammatory process occurring within the shoulder joint that causes limited shoulder range of motion.
7. AC Joint Sprain: Typically, this type of injury occurs with direct trauma to the side of the shoulder joint causing pain with shoulder motion.

Treatment is similar for all pathologies:

1. Administer pain relieving modalities such as ice, heat, electric stimulation and ultrasound
   
   
2. Identify and treat the underlying problem:
   1. Exercises to increase range of motion
   2. Strengthen the rotator cuff muscles and “helper” muscles of the upper back and trunk
      
      
3. Prevention: Each patient is prescribed a personalized home exercise program to minimize the risk of the problem recurring.