Shoulder Pain

Shoulder pain when I am lifting my arm

We move our shoulder joints most in our body. The rotator cuff, consisting of tendons and muscles, allows this moveability. Rotator cuff tendon tears, rotator cuff tendinitis, shoulder impingement syndrome, shoulder injuries, swelling may be the cause of the shoulder pain. While you are moving or lifting your arm, you have pain because of these. 

What are the causes of shoulder pain when I am lifting my arm

Primarily, shoulder pain’s most prevalent cause is stuck rotator cuff tendons under the bony layer of your shoulder. Over time, these stuck rotator cuff tendons get damaged and inflamed eventually. These are rotator cuff tendinitis (rotator cuff bursitis). Joint arthritis, Bursa inflammation, rotator cuff bursitis, bone spurs etc.

Furthermore, dislocations, tendon injuries, tendon overuse like biceps, frozen shoulder due to muscle stiffness are other reasons for shoulder pain. However, there may be another underlying reason, a health issue that stems from another place in the body. For example, pain due to lungs and neck is referential. 

Self-care at home for my shoulder pain when I am lifting my arm

We can give you some tips to decrease your shoulder pain.

• Rest for a few days without forcing your arm by doing heavy work.
• Ice may help to reduce pain. You can place ice for 15 minutes around the pain area, not directly to the painful area and skin. Use a towel to wrap the ice. After every 15 minutes, have a 10-minute break and do this 3 or 4 times. 
• Try taking paracetamol and ibuprofen to relieve the pain and decrease inflammation due to rotator cuff tendon tears, rotator cuff tendinitis, shoulder impingement syndrome, or other shoulder injuries.

You can also treat rotator cuff issues at home.

• Do stretching exercises to strengthen your muscles and rotator cuff tendons. Nevertheless, you should consult your physical therapist about these physical exercises not to do anything wrong. 
• You should do right posture exercises as well to keep your rotator cuff tendons and muscles in the correct place. 
• In the recovering process of rotator cuff tendinitis, you should support your recovery process with a series of physical exercises.
• While doing your exercises, if you still have shoulder pain, take ibuprofen and paracetamol for your rotator cuff tendon tears etc.

When to see Physical Therapist

It is known that rapid left shoulder pain may be a heart attack sign. Hence, if the pain starts suddenly in your chest and spreads to your left jaw, neck, and arm by causing sweating, immediately call emergency service. 

If you have a serious injury, bleeding, bruised or swollen shoulder, you should definitely go to the accident and emergency department as well.

When you have blue or red skin color on your shoulder, swollen shoulder, pain for more than a week, difficulty in moving your shoulder and fever, you should also see a doctor. These may be because of rotator cuff tendon tears, rotator cuff tendinitis etc.

Examination at the hospital or clinic

To fully diagnose your shoulder problem, our professional physical therapist may ask for blood tests besides MRI and x-ray machines. As a result, your shoulder is examined closely. 

The suggested shoulder pain treatments in Antalya, Medworld Clinic, Turkey are:

• Physical therapy
• Anti-inflammatory drugs and paracetamol injection
• If the injury is serious, surgical shoulder treatment may be necessary. 
• However, you are advised to do self-care exercises and to take self-care measures at home if it is not a severe injury. 

Physical therapy benefits for shoulder pain or shoulder injuries

As a non-surgical shoulder treatment, physical therapy is a successful shoulder treatment in Antalya, Medworld clinic, Turkey. The aim of the shoulder physical treatment is to improve shoulder movements and strengthen muscles around your shoulder. When you see your doctors, whether your shoulder issue is rotator cuff tendon tears, rotator cuff tendinitis, swelling etc. he or she may advise you physical therapy as a non-surgical option. Your doctor plans the best and most appropriate physical exercise treatment related to your health problem. Also, your physical therapist shows you how to adjust your daily activities to regain your normal functions and not to get injured again. In addition, you will continue your physical exercises to maintain your shoulder’s mobility, flexibility, and muscle strength at home.

Physical therapy exercise

Physical therapy exercise treatment for shoulder pain is sometimes the best choice. For example, it is the best way for elders because they do not always have a high success rate in surgical treatments. However, it must be known that recovery period time changes from patient to patient. Moreover, physical therapy takes time and requires commitment to the exercise schedule. On the other hand, physical therapy is a supportive treatment method before surgical operations. It helps to strengthen muscles and prepare the body before and after the surgery for rotator cuff tendon tears, rotator cuff tendinitis etc.

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Physical Therapy for shoulder pain or injuries in Antalya, Medworld Clinic, Turkey

• Ice Compression therapy: Compressing ice around the painful area helps to decrease swelling, inflammation and pain. 
• Heat Therapy: Whereas ice therapy is applied when the shoulder injury or the pain is new, heat therapy is applied after ice therapy. When sometime passes after the shoulder injury or the pain, heat therapy helps to relieve pain and relax muscles.
• Hands-on physical therapy: Physical therapist applies pressure on the shoulder tissue towards one specific direction, to regain shoulder’s normal mobility. 
• Stretching physical exercises: To regain your shoulder mobility, you should stretch your muscles and decrease the stiffness. Depending on your shoulder injuries, our physical therapist can assign physical exercises targeting your spine, neck, and shoulder. 

• Strengthening muscles: In fact, strengthening muscle physical exercises are done not to get injured again. 
• Regaining joint mobilization: It is important to do stretch joint capsules to regain joint mobilization of the shoulder. 
• Ultrasound: Ultrasound physical therapy is a kind of deep heating session of shoulder tendons, muscles and soft tissue to reduce the pain. This deep heating increases blood circulation and speeds up the healing. Moreover, therapeutic ultrasound is a good treatment method for frozen shoulders by stretching muscles, which provides flexibility and mobility in the rotator cuff tendon tears, rotator cuff tendinitis, shoulder impingement syndrome, tendon damage, shoulder injuries, changing shoulder bone, swelling.

What else?

• Electrical stimulation: The nerves around the injury are stimulated with this physical therapy method. It helps to decrease inflammation and strain muscles to strengthen them. In addition, it can be used while giving the patient medication.
• Athletic bandage: Together with physical exercises, your physical therapist can choose athletic bandages for your shoulder physical therapy treatment to limit your movement.
• Kinesiology bandage: Whereas athletic bandages are used to limit the shoulder’s movement, kinesiology bandages are used to move in a secure and safe way. 
• Customization of daily activities: Even if your physical therapy sessions are completed, your physical therapist teaches you how to move properly while doing your daily activities so as not to get injured again. For instance, you will be advised not to do harsh movements and resting too much if you have had a frozen shoulder, rotator cuff tendon tears, rotator cuff tendinitis, shoulder impingement syndrome, tendon damage, shoulder injuries, changing shoulder bone, swelling. 
• Adjusting your workplace: Since we live in a technological era, half of us mostly work in front of screens by spending at least 8 hours a day. For recovery of your shoulder pain, your physical therapists also advise you to adjust your working place according to your needs. 
• Self-care at home: As your physical therapist has taught you during your physical therapy sessions, you learn how to do your exercises correctly. Hence, you can continue to do these exercises at home to maintain your progression as your physical therapist suggests. 

What exercises are done for shoulder pain physical therapy?

Even if the shoulder pain physical therapy exercise program is planned individually by physical therapists for rotator cuff tendon tears, rotator cuff tendinitis, shoulder impingement syndrome, tendon damage, shoulder injuries, changing shoulder bone, swelling. There are still some physical exercises that everybody can do for their everyday shoulder pain. These physical exercises help to stretch your muscles, decrease the pressure on the nerves and to prevent future shoulder injuries. However, you should not put yourself at risk by doing harsh exercises and pushing hard. Here are some everyday exercises for your shoulder pain:

• Arm across the chest stretch

Take your right arm in front of your chest, point left while you are holding it with your left hand. Wait for 30 seconds and release. Then, take your left arm in front of your chest, point right while holding it with your right hand to maintain the recovery progress. Whether your shoulder pain is due to rotator cuff tendon tears, rotator cuff tendinitis, shoulder impingement syndrome, tendon damage, shoulder injuries, changing shoulder bone, swelling.

• Pendulum-swing exercise

While holding a chair or a table with your one hand, raise the other hand in the air and circle your arm clockwise 10 times and counter-clockwise 10 times again. You can repeat as much as you can. Pendulum-swing exercise increases your muscles’ flexibility besides being a warm-up exercise. 

• Doorway stretch exercise

While standing in a doorway, step one foot forward and place your palms into the headway. Keep your core muscles stable and push yourself forward. Do it with the other foot and repeat this stretching exercise until your shoulder muscles strengthen and stretch enough. Do this to maintain the recovery progress of your rotator cuff tendon tears, rotator cuff tendinitis, shoulder impingement syndrome, tendon damage, shoulder injuries, changing shoulder bone, swelling.

• Downward facing dog exercise

Place your palms into your mat while your hips are up. Besides being a good yoga activity, downward facing dog exercise is very useful to stretch your back, arms, and shoulder muscles in addition to strengthening your muscles.

• Tilting and holding your head on each side

To stretch your neck and shoulder muscles, bend your neck until it touches your chest, wait for 40 seconds. Then, tilt your neck to the right to feel the stretch on your shoulder. Do the same thing to the left side. 

• Chest expansion exercise

Take a towel or a strap and hold it behind your head with both hands. While stretching out your chest, stretch your shoulder bone towards each other to maintain the recovery progress of your rotator cuff tendon tears, rotator cuff tendinitis, shoulder impingement syndrome, tendon damage, shoulder injuries, changing shoulder bone, swelling. 

• Seated twist pose

While sitting on a chair or on the floor, you can do the twist. The aim of this twist is to stretch your back, so be sure that it starts in your low back. When you turn, you should place your opposite hand on your thigh. 

When is shoulder physical therapy necessary?

When you realize that you have had shoulder pain for days, and it starts disrupting your work and daily activities, it is time to see a physical therapist. Generally, patients’ doctors recommend physical therapists when their patients have shoulder pain. Nonetheless, you do not need your doctor’s recommendation to see a physical therapist because you should make an appointment as soon as possible if you have shoulder pain for more than a week.

It may be because of rotator cuff tendon tears, rotator cuff tendinitis, shoulder impingement syndrome etc. Thus, it is best to consult a professional physical therapist before starting self-care physiotherapy to see the severeness of your shoulder injury.

See a Physical Therapist

Since serious shoulder injuries do not reveal themselves until they are more severe, receiving a detailed examination from a professional and learning the severity sooner is the best. The sooner you learn the cause, the better results from physical therapy you get because physical therapy is a preventative treatment before surgical operations.

You will not need surgical treatment if you notice your problem early and stop it being more serious. Procrastination always costs more. If you neglect your shoulder injury too long, you might end up with more injuries that require more treatments. Please, do not put off and seek a professional physical therapist as soon as possible. You may have severe health issues such as rotator cuff tendon tears, rotator cuff tendinitis etc.

Physical therapy appointment with physical therapy experts in Antalya, Medworld clinic, Turkey

To detect the seriousness of your shoulder pain, our physical therapy experts will ask you some questions about how long you have had the pain, how you got it etc. Besides these, your physical therapist may want to examine your shoulder to see what kind of motion limitations you have and whether you have a serious injury. Thus, it is good to wear comfortable clothes. After your physical examination is completed, depending on your pain, blood tests and other tests might be necessary to check your other health problems. Shoulder pain may be a symptom of another health issue or due to rotator cuff tendon tears, rotator cuff tendinitis etc.

All these diagnostic tests give a clear image to your physical therapist to customize a physical therapy exercise plan special for you. You do not always have to be in the clinic to do these exercises, they can easily be done by almost all patients at home. However, it is essential that you commit yourself to your physical exercise program to make progress and not to get future shoulder injuries.  

Ready to answer your questions

Antalya, Medworld clinic, Turkey physical therapist experts are ready to answer all your questions whether about shoulder injury or other health issues. We believe that surgical operations must be the last choice. For this reason, we provide our patients with conservative treatments. When they do not work, only then surgical treatments should be discussed on more serious cases like rotator cuff tendon tears, rotator cuff tendinitis, shoulder impingement syndrome, tendon damage, shoulder injuries, changing shoulder bone, swelling. 

To make sure that you get the best treatment plan in a peaceful environment in our physical therapy and rehabilitation center as if you were at home, we are here. 

We provide you with free consultation, free transportation, free accommodation, and VIP vehicles to keep you comfortable during your treatment process. You can contact us anytime about any concerns you might have. In addition, we suggest you have a look at our additional services.