Rotator cuff injuries can greatly affect the way your shoulder moves and functions on a daily basis. These conditions often lead to limited upper area movement in the arms and chronic shoulder that can linger long-term. The shoulder has the most range of motion in our bodies and is often held together by muscles, tendons, and ligaments. That’s where physiotherapy for shoulder pain can provide gradual pain relief and kickstart your journey to recovery. 

Premier Care Physiotherapy is an RMT in Richmond Hill that services a variety of patients dealing with chronic physical pain and sports injuries. Our team of professionally experienced medical practitioners will create a customized and detailed plan for a normal, pain-free lifestyle. We want to help address the root issue of your rotator cuff injury in order to prevent it from getting worse. 

To help you understand the rehabilitation process, we’ll go over the main causes of chronic shoulder pain, how exceptional physiotherapy can assist the recovery process, and how physiotherapy can prevent future rotator cuff injuries from happening. 

Our clinic offers a full range of treatment options such as massage therapy, customized exercise programs, acupuncture, kinesiology and more.

What Are The Causes Of Chronic Shoulder Pain?

It’s important to know why chronic shoulder pain occurs in the first place to get ahead of the condition. For example, the rotator cuff is made up of a group of four muscles that work to keep the arm bone centred in the socket whenever it’s in use. If they are injured or damaged, it can create pain in the rotator cuff muscles or tendons that hold it up and can seriously affect how your shoulder works. 

The types of shoulder injuries can be divided into two main categories: sudden injuries and injuries from overuse. Sudden injuries, or acute injuries, happen as a result of moving your shoulder awkwardly to twisting it unnaturally. While they can be painful, sometimes they can go away on their own after applying a light massage or ointment. You may feel a tingling or numbness if the shoulder injury affects a pinched nerve or blood vessel. Common examples of these include bruises, injured tendons, injured nerves, dislocation, or strained muscles to name a few. 

Overuse injuries can cause more serious chronic shoulder pain because they can develop as a result of everyday activities. The shoulder joint can face a lot of stress and pressure that often goes under our radar very often. Injuries in this category can include tendinitis, muscle strain, frozen shoulder (which locks your shoulder’s range of movement) and impingement syndrome just to name a few. The latter is especially serious because it happens when overhead arm movements force the shoulder’s tendons to rub against a part of the shoulder blade, leading to inflamed tendons in the rotator cuff.

Those are just some of the causes of chronic shoulder pain that can affect almost anyone at any stage in their life. Luckily, advanced physiotherapy techniques and technology have greatly benefitted in reducing a patient’s overall shoulder pain. 

Can Physiotherapy Help With Shoulder Pain?

Physiotherapy for shoulder pain and rotator cuff injuries is very often a successful, non-surgical treatment that helps patients recover movement in their shoulders. The ultimate goal of physiotherapy is to strengthen the muscles around that to improve basic function and mobility in everyday life. 

Your personal doctor may refer you to our physical therapists to help you deal with your chronic shoulder pain. Our team of medical practitioners will thoroughly examine your injury, engage in meaningful discussion, and establish the best treatment plan for regaining feeling in your shoulder. 

We recognize that every patient is a unique individual with special needs that may have to be met. As such, our treatment plans are carefully custom-designed to help you properly recover and regain your shoulder strength. The physical therapist may also provide helpful advice on adjusting your daily activities to better support your shoulders and prevent re-injuring them. 

Part of the treatment plan may also include a customized home exercise routine to help you maintain your shoulder’s mobility once you have gone through our therapy sessions. Other examples of treatment methods we may use include ice/heat therapy, stretching, strengthening, ultrasound, joint mobilization, athletic/kinesiology taping, electrical stimulation, and hands-on therapy.  

Physiotherapy can also limit the need for invasive surgery in some cases, as it can carry good results to varying degrees for each patient. If surgery is necessary, physiotherapy will help your body to prepare and strengthen itself prior to the operation. Overall, it’s an effective way of keeping your shoulder free of chronic pain that can affect it daily. Here’s how it may also prevent rotator cuff injuries from happening. 

How Can Physiotherapy Help In Preventing Future Rotator Cuff Injuries?

Physiotherapy treatments are a great option for patients looking for chronic shoulder pain relief or a simple way of dealing with rotator cuff injuries. It may also help train any uninjured muscles in the shoulder to increase their workload and alleviate the pressure off of inflamed tendons or joints, resulting in pain-free activity and easy movement. 

Rotator cuff injuries and chronic shoulder pain are considered a normal part of the aging process. However, you don’t have to deal with the disadvantages that come with it. With frequent physiotherapy sessions at Premier Care Physiotherapy, your shoulder care will be monitored and you’ll be greatly serviced by our dedicated physical therapist team 

Book an appointment with us today and reach your fitness goals safely in 2022!