The shoulder is one of the most important joints in our body. As a result, it needs to be properly maintained at all times. When the shoulder becomes injured or out of alignment, it can affect everything from your ability to perform daily tasks and exercise to your general quality of life including sleep!
In this blog, we will explore what you need to know about shoulder physiotherapy: how it works and why you should seek treatment when necessary.
What Are The Common Symptoms Of A Weak Or Injured Shoulder
You may not know it, but your shoulders are arguably the most important part of your body. They allow us to do numerous everyday activities – from typing on a keyboard and drinking coffee at the office to playing cricket with the kids in the backyard or helping someone get out of bed after surgery. And when they hurt, we can’t always just shrug them off (pardon the pun) like nothing is wrong because that can make things worse!
If you have a weak or injured shoulder, there are certain symptoms to look for. These symptoms can be indicators that you may need shoulder physiotherapy in the future. Some common symptoms of a weak or injured shoulder to look out for include the following:
- Pain
- Swelling
- Numbness
- Tingling
- Burning pain
- Weakness
- Changes in temperature or colour
- Changes in your range of motion
- Sensations of joints slipping in and out of the socket
What Is Shoulder Physiotherapy?
Shoulder physiotherapy is a special type of physical therapy that aims to help you rehabilitate an injured shoulder. When we fall, our shoulders are often the first part of us to hit the ground and when it happens over and over again without protection, they gradually become worse and can almost become a constant source of pain and discomfort.
The good news is that these injuries and conditions can be treated by qualified therapists. These therapists will be able to focus on relieving your symptoms through therapeutic techniques like massage treatments, joint mobilisation, and heat therapies among others so that your shoulders not only move better and more freely but also eliminate any pain or discomfort you may be experiencing!
How Can Shoulder Physiotherapy Help An Injured Shoulder?
The shoulder is the most complex joint in your body. It’s structured this way to allow you to move freely while supporting a lot of weight from various angles. Shoulder physiotherapy can help with an injured shoulder however, it’s important that you know what type of injury may have caused your condition before starting therapy as there could be a number of different reasons for the pain or restricted movement you’re experiencing.
For example, shoulder specialists know how to treat muscle spasms so they don’t impair circulation. These specialists can bring relief from the discomfort associated with muscle spasms in the shoulder by treating trigger points through massage therapy techniques or stretching exercises that encourage blood flow back into stiff tissue. This encourages flexibility after any immobilisation caused due to injury.
Physiotherapy can help you heal more quickly and strengthen the muscles around your shoulder to help reduce a recurrence of the condition. This will provide you with massive relief from any pain or discomfort you have had to endure, ensure that you have free movement and aren’t restricted in whatever activities you wish to participate in.
What Is The Importance Of Shoulder Physiotherapy?
The importance of seeking out shoulder physiotherapy is critical because it helps people lead more productive lives despite aches and pains in their shoulders caused by overuse or injury. With this type of therapy, there’s no need for surgery which can be very costly. Instead, prolonged treatments allow patients’ natural healing process time to kick into gear while they improve mobility thanks to tailored exercises.
There are also other reasons behind the importance of shoulder physiotherapy. For one, a healthy and pain-free range of motion will prevent injury down the line during exercise or everyday tasks such as grocery shopping or taking care of children.
More importantly, shoulder problems can also affect your quality of life with symptoms such as limited mobility due to reduced arm movement causing increased stress levels and even depression on top of physical limitations.
With that, it is important to get treatment from a professional when you have any type of shoulder injury. Physiotherapists can help with all sorts of ailments, and they’ll teach you how best to minimise pain so that it doesn’t become worse than what’s already there. As a bonus, shoulder physiotherapy not only offers physical benefits but even mental and emotional ones too!
What To Expect During Your Shoulder Physiotherapy Visit
During your shoulder physiotherapy visit, you will be asked to stretch and move the joint slowly. They may explore why movement creates more pain than usual and also analyse what positions seem comfortable vs painful in order to make certain changes happen.
You may also do some exercises that help strengthen muscles around your shoulder to make sure movement and stress of the joint are more equally distributed around the area. Your therapist can provide advice on how best to avoid future injury as well as offer effective ways of recovering more quickly if any past injuries have occurred in this area before. As such, if you’ve been suffering from chronic or even acute shoulder pain, don’t hesitate to visit a physiotherapist.
Summary
With all of the information we have on shoulder physiotherapy, it is important to know that any time you suffer from shoulder pain, or your shoulders are always stiff, it’s a good idea to visit a physical therapist. They will be able to help you with exercises for pain relief as well as help prevent future injury by strengthening various muscles in your body. If you want more tips on how to heal quickly after a shoulder injury or learn about prevention methods, we are here to help!
Please call us at Melbourne Hand Therapy today (03) 9899 8490 or leave an enquiry and we will get back to you as soon as possible.