DESCRIPTION:
Although the shoulder is the most flexible joint in the body, it can be unstable because of its wide range of motion. Also, because the ball of the upper arm is larger than the socket of the shoulder, this area is susceptible to injury. In addition, the muscles, tendons and ligaments in this area are often subject to injury and overuse.
How does shoulder pain develop?
The most common cause of chronic shoulder pain and disability is osteoarthritis, although other forms of arthritis can be culprits as well, including rheumatoid arthritis, traumatic arthritis and gouty arthritis. Osteoarthritis afflicts most of us as we age, steadily wearing away the smooth and resilient cartilage that caps the ends of our long bones and is essential to normal joint function.
Other causes of pain in the shoulder include tendonitis, bursitis, injury causing dislocation, impingement syndrome, rotator cuff tear, adhesive capsulated (frozen shoulder), poor posture or fracture. Degenerative conditions and other diseases in the body may also contribute to shoulder problems or generate pain that travels along the nerves to the shoulder.
What are the symptoms of shoulder pain?
Individuals experiencing pain because of an injured rotator cup often experience a dull aching pain, which is worsens with activity. Lifting the arm overhead commonly produces pain (for example, putting the dishes in the cupboards). Symptoms of shoulder tendonitis include a slow onset of discomfort, pain in the upper third of the arm and difficulty sleeping on the afflicted side. Bursitis often causes redness and swelling that is warm and tender to touch.
Individuals with minor shoulder pain, clicking, giving way or frozen shoulder usually are experiencing the earliest symptoms of arthritis. Osteoarthritis can begin in those as young as thirty, and may progress for many years before symptoms appear.
Conventional medical treatments help relieve the symptoms of shoulder pain but they do not address the root of the problem. By strengthening the structural weaknesses in the shoulder, as natural medicine therapies do, chronic shoulder pain can be alleviated permanently.
Discover why we believe that natural medicine treatments are the best way to treat shoulder pain and may end chronic shoulder pain forever.
