How To Heal Shoulder Pain And Disability
Shoulder injuries can be very serious. They can be extremely limiting, slow to heal, and very painful. Physical Therapy is one of the main treatment modalities to heal common shoulder injuries such as a rotator cuff tear.
Slight impingement and tears of the rotator cuff are common. The shoulder may swell and you can often experience muscle strain. Bone spurs and pinching are common causes of shoulder swelling. A rotator cuff tear is less common but there are still over 40,000 rotator cuff surgeries done in the U.S. every year. For most partial tears, you can avoid surgery with Physical Therapy or Stem Cell Therapy.
After an injury, immediately follow the “RICE” method. This method is rest, ice, compression, and elevation, which all work together to reduce the amount of pain and swelling a person will experience. Often, when sufficient swelling is reducing, you will be able to move your arm with much less pain and begin range of motion exercises and stretching to help you heal.
At Cross Bay Physical Therapy, our experienced physical therapists will create an individualized plan for your physical therapy and guide you to recovery. We pride ourselves about taking a hands-on approach and will be with you every step of the way. Here are a few examples of stretches and exercises that help rebuild the shoulder:
- Side-lying external rotation - While lying on your side on a mat or table, place your elbow on your lip and hold your hand out in front of you with your elbow at a 90 degree angle. We will then give you a small weight to hold. Then, with the weight, lift it in the hair keeping your elbow still until your elbow is perpendicular to the floor. Repeat 10 time for 3 sets for each arm. Don’t worry our physical therapists will show you the exercise in action.
- Reverse fly - First, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees should be slightly bent. Lean your back slight forward while keeping it straight. Then, with light weights in each hand, extend your arms and raise them away from the body. Remember to squeeze your shoulder blades together when you raise the weights. Do three sets of ten repetitions.
It is important not to try these exercises before you are ready or before our physical therapists show you specifically how to do them. If you don't follow this advice, you are at risk of hurting yourself.
You rotator cuff tear can get better and at Cross Bay Physical Therapy, we are both experience and dedicated to help you heal and get back your shoulder’s health.
Call (718) 835-0084 and schedule your appointment.