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Aches and Pains, Shoulder Pain

Aching Shoulders? What you need to know about your rotator cuff…

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If your shoulder is painful with certain motions or when you sleep, your rotator cuff could be giving you trouble. You need the strength of your rotator cuff to help you do all sorts of activities from brushing your hair and teeth, to lifting objects overhead and even throwing a baseball. The rotator cuff is the group of four muscles that surround your shoulder joint, guiding the way your shoulder moves. When the rotator cuff is weak or injured, poor shoulder movement occurs, causing inflammation and pain.

An injured rotator cuff is often the result of repetitive or forceful movements of the shoulder and is one of the most common upper body injuries throughout any age. In fact, rotator cuff tears become a normal finding as people get older. Studies show that 30% of those under the age of 70, and 70% of those over age 80 have a rotator cuff tear.

Relieving shoulder pain for good
There is hope for relieving shoulder pain and it comes with proper motion and strengthening of the shoulder. The goal of treating a rotator cuff tear is not necessarily to heal the torn muscle or tendon. People can achieve pain relief and improve strength simply by relieving inflammation and restoring normal shoulder joint movement. This is accomplished with the right physical therapy and anti-inflammatory treatments, including medications, cortisone injections and ice applications.

What you can do
Here are some simple tips for improving your shoulder pain:

  • Rest and ice frequently. Ice for 10 minutes right on the shoulder joint, even if it aches in your mid arm area.
  • Sleep hugging a pillow. This helps to properly space the shoulder joint. Tuck the pillow deep in your underarm.
  • Stand up against a wall and gently squeeze your shoulder blades back and together. Don’t shrug your shoulders. This helps retrain proper shoulder posture.
  • Avoid heavy lifting, carrying groceries on that side and repetitive reaching up overhead, even if it is a light object such as a cup.
  • If your pain doesn’t go away in 3-4 days, seek help from our physical therapists.

The goal of physical therapy is to improve the function of the muscles that surround the shoulder and to help the mobility of the joint. Physical therapy targets the smaller, but important muscles around the shoulder that are commonly neglected. By strengthening these muscles, physical therapy helps compensate for damaged tendons and improves the mechanics of the shoulder joint.

Our physical therapists perform gentle hands on therapy to restore proper shoulder motion and educate you on important techniques and exercises. They greatly accelerate shoulder pain relief pain and restore proper motion for long-term results. The truth is that the vast majority of people who have a rotator cuff tear will not need surgical treatment and can be helped tremendously with physical therapy. Call us today to learn more about our shoulder program and how we can help relieve your pain!

Aches and Pains, Health and Wellness

Is Pain Stopping You From Getting Back in the Game?

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Don’t let pain sideline you!
There is nothing more exciting than taking on a new challenge, sport or activity. For most of us, the thrill of accomplishing a physical goal is what we live for. However, are you prepared for it? The term “weekend warrior” means a person who doesn’t really train for what they are doing. Instead, they just go out and do the activity on the weekends.

How do most injuries occur?
Most sports injuries occur from ill-prepared individuals who just jump into the activity without first increasing their strength, endurance and flexibility. Your muscles, tendons, ligaments and other tissues need to be warmed up and trained first in order to work properly. They take enormous strain during running and sports activities. If they are not in tip-top condition, they are more prone to injury.

Injuries go up as you age…
If you think back to when you were in your late teens, you could go into a full sprint no problem, take a flying leap and do a whole lot without the slightest thought about it. As you get older, your tissues become less elastic and in fact a little “drier”. When your muscle, tendon and ligament tissues have enough water, they are supple and stretchy, allowing you to do a lot of activities. Keep yourself hydrated and stretch often to maintain elasticity in your muscles.

Preparing your body…
It is important to do sports activities, fitness and a host of other physical activities to keep you healthy and happy. With a little bit of preparation, you can easily do these activities and decrease your risk for injury.

  • Stretch often
  • Improve your strength training
  • Practice your coordination training
  • Build up your endurance training

Before and after:
Knowing the right exercises to do to prepare for fitness activities is key. Our physical therapy experts have years of experience helping people rehabilitate after injuries and return to the activities they enjoy. What some people might not know is that physical therapists can help put a specific exercise plan together based on your needs to prevent injury. If you do start to experience pain with activities, we can get you back to enjoying your activities, pain-free. Call us today to learn more about how we can help you get back in the game!

Aches and Pains, Neck Pain

How Can You Stop That Nagging Neck Pain or Headache?

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Do you find it hard to get comfortable at night because of the ache in your neck or do you suffer from headaches? Many people suffer from chronic neck pain, tightness and frequent headaches. Some people may try to mask the symptoms with popping Advil or Tylenol. Since the root cause of the problem is not addressed, weakness in the neck and shoulder muscles increase, which can lead to chronic headaches and even migraines.

The neck is very complicated in its structure and is primarily made up of seven independently moving bones called vertebrae. The ability to rotate your head comes from the upper part of the neck. This is a very important part of your body since it is where the thickest part of the spinal cord goes through to the brain. It is also an important area that determines how your body balances.

Main Causes of Neck Pain
Neck pain can start for a number of reasons including: poor posture with sitting, car accidents, stress, injuries or even falls. Since the neck is where blood vessels link through to your head, pain and tightness can cause spasms of the arteries around the nerves of the neck and head.

People with neck problems can often experience pain, such as tingling or numbness, into the arms, hands and even fingers. This is because the nerves coming out of your neck supply blood to your arms and hands. If you are experiencing pain, it is important that you see one of our licensed physical therapists. There is a lot that you can do to help your neck pain and headaches. The key is preventing the neck pain from starting in the first place.

In today’s society we sit a lot in slouched positions, which is not good for the neck, upper back and shoulders. Our jobs, driving in the car, picking up heavy objects and repetitive straining can hurt the neck over a period of time. Having our experts examine your neck movement, strength and function can pinpoint the root cause of your neck pain or headaches, treat it and teach you how to prevent it from returning. Call us today to learn more how we can relieve that pain in your neck!

Aches and Pains, Knee and Hip Pain

Overcome Knee and Hip Pain

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The knee joint is the second most complicated joint in the body and has to move in many directions. The knee and hip work in tandem allowing you to walk, run, squat and kneel. When either your hip, knee or ankle have problems moving, the other joints can be strained causing pain. Therefore, even if you have pain in your knees, it could be a problem stemming from your hip or ankle.

Most problems in the knee or hip come from either too little activity or too much activity. Either way, the tissues and muscles around the joints become tight, causing limited movement, strain and inflammation. This can occur from sitting a lot, injuries, arthritis, too much activity or disease.

When you lose the normal movements of the hip, knee or ankle joints your muscles have to take on the abnormal strain. This can lead to common aches and pains experienced by millions of people. In addition, it can also lead to inflammatory conditions such as bursitis or tendonitis. Bursitis is an inflammation of one or more fluid filled sacs which are located throughout your body and are designed to reduce friction between tissues. Common areas of bursitis are on the side of the hip and inner knee. Tendonitis is an inflammation of the tendons which connect muscles to bones.

Many people feel that medication will solve their hip, knee or leg pain. While medication can help to decrease inflammation and pain, it cannot address the root cause of the problem. This is because most pain in the hip, thigh, knee or leg comes from loss of flexibility, strength and coordination.

Things you can do:

  • Stretch daily for at least 10 minutes
  • Strengthen your leg muscles – calves, quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteus muscles
  • When sitting during the day, get up every 30 minutes to walk around
  • Be active and at the least walk 15-30 minutes a day
  • See a physical therapy professional to examine your joint movement, walking and pinpoint the root cause

The knee joint is the second most complicated joint in the body and has to move in many directions. The knee and hip work in tandem allowing you to walk, run, squat and kneel. When either your hip, knee or ankle have problems moving, the other joints can be strained causing pain. Therefore, even if you have pain in your knees, it could be a problem stemming from your hip or ankle.

Most problems in the knee or hip come from either too little activity or too much activity. Either way, the tissues and muscles around the joints become tight, causing limited movement, strain and inflammation. This can occur from sitting a lot, injuries, arthritis, too much activity or disease.

When you lose the normal movements of the hip, knee or ankle joints your muscles have to take on the abnormal strain. This can lead to common aches and pains experienced by millions of people. In addition, it can also lead to inflammatory conditions such as bursitis or tendonitis. Bursitis is an inflammation of one or more fluid filled sacs which are located throughout your body and are designed to reduce friction between tissues. Common areas of bursitis are on the side of the hip and inner knee. Tendonitis is an inflammation of the tendons which connect muscles to bones.

Many people feel that medication will solve their hip, knee or leg pain. While medication can help to decrease inflammation and pain, it cannot address the root cause of the problem. This is because most pain in the hip, thigh, knee or leg comes from loss of flexibility, strength and coordination.

Things you can do:

  • Stretch daily for at least 10 minutes
  • Strengthen your leg muscles – calves, quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteus muscles
  • When sitting during the day, get up every 30 minutes to walk around
  • Be active and at the least walk 15-30 minutes a day
  • See a physical therapy professional to examine your joint movement, walking and pinpoint the root cause
Back Pain, Health and Wellness, Neck Pain

Is Your Back or Neck Pain From a Herniated Disc?

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If you feel radiating pain, numbness or tingling it is possible one or more of your nerves may be irritated by a bulging or herniated disc. The bones in your spine are called vertebrae and in-between the vertebrae are your discs which, act as shock absorbers. These control the spine’s range of motion, flexibility and keep the bones and spinal cord safe from damage. However, when a disc is damaged, the inside of the disc can squeeze out of place and bulge into the spaces where the nerves exit the spinal cord. Depending on which disc is affected, will give you symptoms to different parts of your body. When the bulge is severe, it is called a herniated disc.

A herniated disc can be incredibly painful and can cause a great deal of limitations on the body’s movement, thus hindering a person’s mobility and overall ability to perform day-to-day tasks. A herniated disc can cause a variety of symptoms including radiating pain down the arm or leg depending if the herniated disc is in your neck or low back.

A herniated disc in the neck can be just as painful as a herniated disc in the back. Arm pain from a herniated disc in the neck is one of the more common neck conditions treated by spine specialists. Although a herniated disc in the neck may start from some sort of trauma or injury, the symptoms commonly start from poor posture or muscle strains.

Symptoms of a herniated disc:
Symptoms of a herniated disc vary greatly depending on the position of the herniated disc and the size of the herniation.

Symptoms include:

  • Ache in the low back or neck.
  • Pain, tingling, numbness or weakness.
  • Severe, deep muscle pain and/or muscle spasms.
  • With herniation in the lower back, radiating pain may develop to the buttocks and down a leg to the ankle or foot.
  • With herniation in the upper part of the lumbar spine, you may have pain in the groin or the front of the thigh.
  • With herniation in the neck, you may have pain or numbness in the shoulders, arms, hands or chest.

Whether you have just recently suffered from back or neck pain, or have been dealing with it for a long time, we can help. By pinpointing the root cause of your problem, we provide you with a comprehensive treatment that will relieve your pain quickly and enable you to enjoy a pain-free life. Call us today to learn more how we can help you feel great!