Are You Dealing With Shoulder Pain?
Watch this video on how shoulder injuries form.
Understanding Shoulder Anatomy
The term "Rotator cuff" describes a section of four muscles that keep your shoulder held together in its shallow socket while larger muscles move it.
Strains and injuries in the shoulder can often be related to rotator cuff damage. These injuries are typically the most common cause of people experiencing shoulder problems, accounting for 4.5 million doctor visits per year. Injuries are classified by the amount of damage as "partial tears", "full-thickness tears" or "ruptures".
A "partial tear" is the result of one side of your tendon been partially frayed. A "full-thickness tear", sometimes called a "complete tear", is when there is a hole or slit in your tendon, much like what would be created by running a knife length-wise down a rope. A "rupture" is the most severe form of injury and it means that your tendon has been torn into two pieces.
What Are The Causes Of Shoulder Injuries?
Less than 10% of rotator cuff tears are the direct result of an acute injury like falling, pushing, pulling, throwing or lifting. Most shoulder injuries come from poor posture and muscular weakness.
The overwhelming majority of injuries are caused by repetitive strains over a long period of time related to poor posture and weakness. One of the most common reasons that people start to develop a rotator cuff tear is something called "impingement". Impingement essentially means that the section where your rotator cuff tendon lives have simply become too crowded and the rotator cuff tendon is being pinched each time you raise your arm.
People who perform repeated overhead activities are usually at the greatest risk for impingement and rotator cuff tendon problems. This usually includes athletes who play baseball, volleyball, tennis, rowing, weight lifting, swimming and archery, and jobs that include carpentry, painting, wallpaper hanging, cleaning windows, prolonged daily mousing on the computer, pressure washing and washing/waxing cars. Other forms of risk factors for rotator cuff problems include sleep posture, smoking, obesity, high cholesterol and prior cortisone injection.
What Are The Symptoms Of A Shoulder Injury?
Patients who have suffered an acute rotator cuff injury often report a "tearing" or "snapping" sound and sensation that is followed by severe pain and weakness.
Most chronic strains start silently with symptoms slowly becoming more evident as the impingement progresses. Pain is usually found in the front and outside of your shoulder but can also sometimes radiate down your upper arm or shoulder blade.
Symptoms are usually aggravated by overhead activity, reaching and pulling and may progress to the point that you have difficulty raising your arm overhead. Pain is typically made worse at night, especially when you lie on the impacted area of your shoulder. Be sure to tell us if you suffer from significant neck pain, shortness of breath, chest pain or chest pressure.
How We Help Patients With Shoulder Pain
The vast majority of the shoulder problems we see are chronic nature.
At Life Quest in Alexandria, MN, we take a comprehensive, results-driven approach to treating shoulder pain by addressing both the source of the problem and the surrounding movement patterns.
Our treatment begins with improving joint mechanics through precise chiropractic manipulation of the shoulder, scapula, and surrounding structures. This helps restore proper motion, reduce impingement, and decrease pain.
For damaged or chronically irritated tissue, we utilize shockwave therapy, a highly effective, non-invasive treatment that stimulates healing, improves blood flow, and accelerates recovery—especially for conditions like rotator cuff tendinitis, bicipital tendinitis and calcific shoulder issues. L-lysine IM injections and peptide therapy may be considered for certain cases.
To support long-term results, every patient is guided through targeted rehabilitation exercises designed to restore strength, stability, and proper movement patterns of the shoulder and upper body.
We also incorporate advanced soft tissue therapies including kinesiotaping and therapeutic cupping to reduce muscle tension, improve circulation, and enhance recovery between visits.
The result is a complete system designed not just to relieve pain—but to restore function, improve performance, and prevent future injury.
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