Shoulder pain is one of the most common complaints and can affect people of all ages depending on how active you are and increases with your age. Unfortunately I fit into the 40 plus bracket and this does mean this type of injury is quite common. Often you don't think you really did very much to grant being in so much pain!

The reason these issues happen a lot is that the shoulder joint is quite complex with a wide range of motion, or you think it still has a wide range (!) so it's particularly vulnerable to injury and strain.

The majority of shoulder pain patients experience discomfort due to overuse, poor posture, or underlying conditions such as shoulder impingement syndrome. Here I'll share as a fellow sufferer what the most common causes are and how you can get a Home Physiotherapy session with exercises to help you get your pain-free life back!

Most Common Causes of Shoulder Pain

If you play sports that include repetitive overhead motions such as tennis or swimming, this can cause pain in people of all ages and is often overuse of that area. This also happens if you have a job which has overhead motion like carpentry or painting. However it's also possible to have issues due to poor posture and tight muscles or weak back muscles and upper back.

You may have signs of shoulder impingement, or swimmer's shoulder, which is a common condition where tendons are compressed during a particular movement. It often causes discomfort at night, you struggle to sleep on your affected side and it has a sharp, pinching pain. It's caused by overuse which creates inflammation.

How Physiotherapy Helps

This is not something you can heal yourself, and the best way to improve your quality of life is through a therapy plan with a physiotherapist focusing on specialised care for shoulder pain.

They will assess the potential cause and through targeted exercises and manual therapy aim to alleviate pain and improve your shoulder mobility. This will restore your range of motion giving you a sense of getting back every day actitives.

Shoulder Pain Exercises

There are simple exercises you can perform at home with the help of skilled physiotherapists. It's best to do these with their support so you always begin in the correct starting position and stop if you feel sharp pain.

They will help you with basic exercises at first, positioning and aligning your body until you get your posture and the movement correct. From a doorway stretch to shoulder circling and wall slides they will check your shoulder height and make sure you keep your shoulder stable. The right exercises will put in you in a great place to help your recovery and get back to normal. You have to do as you're told basically and do your home work!

Tips for Recovery

Make sure you follow any tips your therapist gives you as they see this type of injury every week.

If you have just recently hurt your shoulder blade apply an ice pack reduce inflammation. You can use over the counter pain killers such as ibuprofen.

Going forward try to perform the home exercises consistently as you've been directed. It takes regular effort to see results. Avoid aggravating daily activities during recovery, even if you hate to miss swimming/tennis sessions for example, this will lengthen your recovery.

When to Seek Extra Help

It's common to try and leave this type of issue to calm down and hope it goes away with gentle movement and a bit of paracetamol. However, it's important to get help quickly and start some physical therapy to relieve the pain and make sure there is no underlying cause. Only a professional can check these and it's best to get on with it straight away so your recovery is shorter.

Most of us are not very good at getting help for ourselves but managing shoulder pain doesn't require complicated routines just consistently following exercises you've been given. The good news is you will be able to restore your strength and mobility and most importantly sleep again!

Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.