Shoulder injuries can develop from day-to-day activities, athletic pursuits, or sudden, unexpected injuries. Many times, a shoulder injury involves a torn rotator cuff or a fracture in the clavicle. In any situation, a shoulder injury can cause excruciating pain that leads to debilitation.
Doctors may be quick to turn to surgery to try to correct the problem, but going under the knife really should not be a first-choice solution. Sometimes a person’s health is not suitable for surgical procedures and the recovery that follows. In other cases, a doctor may prescribe strong painkillers to simply drown out the pain of a shoulder injury. This is also less-than-ideal due to the high risk of abuse or side effects. To avoid complications, physical therapy may be the best solution.
How Physical Therapy Can Help Injured Shoulders
Our shoulders do more each day than most people realize until it becomes injured and all of those processes become impossible or painful. In order to alleviate pain and restore mobility, strength needs to be returned to the joint. Physical therapy can excel in numerous ways to do this while also avoiding dangerous medical procedures.
A few physical therapy options that could help with shoulder pain are:
- Massage therapy: If a shoulder injury originates more from a muscle tear than a skeletomuscular problem, massage therapy can be a great way to remove the soreness while simultaneously relaxing the patient.
- Strength and conditioning: There is a variety of exercises and stretches that can benefit an injured shoulder and bring back the strength the joint had before the accident or incident. Some of these exercises require light weightlifting but many can be done without any accessories at all.
- Red Cord sessions: Red Cord is a popular physical therapy that makes stretching and weight training easier on people with debilitations, including painful shoulder injuries. Using Red Cord with the help of a trained professional can target specific areas and bring improvement without adding more stress.
Would you like to know more about how physical therapy can help with shoulder injuries? ProFysio Physical Therapy and our Monmouth County physical therapists can tell you all about your options during a consultation. We pride ourselves in our individualized care – we never book more than two patients in an hour – and accept most insurance plans. Call 732.333.6360 today.