2960 North State Rd. 7 | Suite 204 | Margate, FL 33063
The shoulder joint is capable of the greatest degree of movement of any joint in the body. The range of motion of the shoulder, when healthy, is 360 degrees. If you are having shoulder pain that seems to radiate from your neck, you may in fact have a neck problem, causing pain in the shoulder. (Click here to take them to neck pain) If the pain is in your shoulder and movement of the shoulder joint causes increased pain you may have one of several problems involving the shoulder joint. Many people have problems with a group of muscles in the shoulder called the rotator cuff. The rotator cuff muscles function to hold the arm bone (humerus) into the shallow socket of the shoulder (glenoid fossa). When these muscles become injured they usually tighten up to protect the joint, pulling the arm up into the socket and making movement limited and painful. If the injury is severe, these muscles or their tendons can be ripped or torn which makes movement difficult and painful.
Another type of injury to the shoulder is injury to the small joint formed by the clavicle (collar bone) and a small piece of the shoulder blade called the acromian process. These form the acromial-clavicular joint (AC joint). When the shoulder is moved, movement must occur at the AC joint. If for some reason this isn’t allowed to occur, shoulder movement will be limited and painful. Separation of this joint which most commonly occurs by falling sideways and landing on the shoulder will cause a rise in the level of the clavicle. This usually creates more of a cosmetic change than a loss of function. Neck pain is usually noticed with this type of injury due to muscle spasm of all the surrounding musculature. Long term consequences of AC separation can result in arthritis of this joint and loss of overall shoulder mobility.
Frozen shoulder is a condition that causes loss of mobility of the shoulder joint, and usually occurs after trauma to the joint which is not adequately treated. Many people when there is pain in the shoulder limit movement. Eventually the pain may go away, however the limited range of motion remains and usually becomes worse with time. When the shoulder joint is not moved through its full range of motion on a regular basis, the tissues become adhered to each other, preventing a gliding of the muscles and tendons over each other. When this occurs, the condition is called adhesive capsulitis or frozen shoulder. Treatment for this condition can be long and protracted due to the chronic nature of this condition. Treatment options include physical therapy, stretching, and massage along with therapeutic exercise to restore normal motion. A procedure called manipulation under anesthesia is sometimes performed to break up adhesions and allow for greater joint mobility. If none of these treatments are effective, surgery may be indicated.
Proper treatment of these injuries not only helps to rehabilitate the area, but can prevent permanent loss of functional mobility within the joint.
The physicians and staff at Northwest Wellness Center have all the equipment needed to produce the best healing possible to the shoulder. On site x-ray facilities allow us to see if there has been a separation. Our physical therapy/rehab department can stretch and exercise the injury to affect the most positive outcome.
