Aching shoulders (continued)

Shoulder pain can be difficult to shift. Due to the highly mobile nature of the shoulder and the fact that the shoulder has less integrity than many other joints, there is an increased risk of injury to its structures.

Let’s focus a little more on the most common reason for shoulder pain…

 

Posture

We often use our bodies repetitively and inappropriately at work. Sometimes this can lead to shoulder and neck pain. For example, holding prolonged postures (for example, sitting at a desk all day) can lead to shortening and chronic contraction of some muscles and lengthening and weakening of others. This often results in muscular pain.

This muscular pain may lead to restrictions in movement and can occasionally irritate the nerves passing through the shoulder and chest that supply the arm. This may cause pain, numbness and/or pins and needles in the arm or hand.

Think of someone who has rounded shoulders. This means the scapula is drawn around the rib cage. The socket joint then sits at a different angle and the ball joint, therefore, changes angle, meaning the muscles of the ball and socket joint (the rotator cuff) work unevenly.

The scapula muscles – trapezius and rhomboids – are then stretched and overworked in order to try to draw the shoulder blade back into position. This results in aching between the shoulder blades and across the top of the shoulders – these are the places where you feel tense when stressed.

This is why we need to teach the next generation how to stand and how to align their shoulders and shoulder blades so they maintain a good posture from a young age, thus preventing issues down the line.

The good news is osteopathy can help with many of the symptoms of shoulder injury/dysfunction, and can also help manage the associated pain. At Not Just Backs, we are experts in the assessment of posture and will be able to diagnose the source of your pain and its cause and provide you with effective treatment to decrease your symptoms.

 

Give our clinic a call on 01722 512 043 and we can talk you through your shoulder problem.

 

 

 

  

  

 

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