It is easy to not think much about how much your shoulder and arm move during a day until its mobility has been impaired. When shoulder pain becomes a problem, chiropractic care can restore mobility and resolve the pain issue, returning life to normal. But how does chiropractic work? And what causes shoulder pain in the first place? Let’s take a closer look at how this happens and how chiropractic care at Legacy Spine and Sport can lead to a long term solution.
A story chiropractors often hear from their patients is that they woke up one day, their shoulder hurt, and it never went back to normal. They have a few guesses at what might have caused it, but it’s normal to be unsure about how this pain came to be.
The people who seek out chiropractic care for this issue are smart to do so. When left untreated, shoulder pain can lead to long term problems and grow worse. It can impact a person’s life in serious ways that affect their quality of life and ability to function as they once did. By seeking treatment early, you avoid suffering and causing more damage.
The first step to treatment is finding the source of the problem. So what led to the pain in the shoulder in the first place?
For some, the cause may be unusual movement patterns. They put repetitive stress on the muscles in a way that the body wasn’t used to being moved. Another common example that can lead to shoulder pain is a traumatic event to the body, like a car accident or a hard impact during a sporting event.
Other causes for shoulder pain include tightness in the upper back and neck, arthritis, and a misalignment of the spinal column.
These issues can result in either a swelling in the shoulder joint, leading to pain, or as is most often the case, an issue with the spine that is referring to the shoulder. There are 33 bones that have to all connect to create the spinal column. With repeated stress, muscle tightness, or an accident, it’s easy for some of these vertebrae to become misaligned. In the area of your spinal column, there are also nerves which can be irritated by a misaligned vertebrae, causing more pain.
There are as many unique situations that lead to shoulder pain as there are people. Sometimes the pain comes on suddenly and sometimes it is a chronic issue. While every person’s pain is unique to them, a chiropractor will have seen many cases and been trained to understand how the body functions, and sometimes malfunctions.
When should you seek out a health professional for your shoulder pain?
If any of these situations are familiar to you, it’s time to seek our chiropractic care at Legacy Spine and Sport and create a treatment plan. These scenarios are all situations where the pain in your shoulder is affecting the quality of your life. While it is a normal reaction to want to ignore the pain and hope it resolves on its own, the problem may be causing further damage and grow worse over time. It’s much better to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
As mentioned above, every patient’s shoulder pain is unique. A chiropractor will begin with a consultation. They will evaluate your health and find the source of your pain. Once the cause has been found, they’ll work with you to create a non-invasive chiropractic treatment plan. Your chiropractor at Legacy Spine and Sport will work to restore your body to its healthy state and resolve the pain issue so you can return to full mobility in your shoulder.