When it concerns painful injuries, the rotator cuff is right up there on the top end of the pain scale. It’s common for both athletes and sedentary people of any age to hurt their rotator cuff, and this kind of injury can be quite difficult to recover from.
Symptoms can include shoulder and arm pain, limited range of motion or loss of motion, difficulty sleeping and abnormal joint movement.
Fortunately, there are a wide range of physiotherapy treatment options offered, and physiotherapy has proven to be an effective treatment to relieve a range of shoulder pain.
Here are Six excellent reasons you ought to think about getting your relief for shoulder pain kicked off with a Trimetrics physiotherapist:
You May Need a Restorative Exercise Program
Depending on the precise nature of your rotator cuff injury, you may need to follow a specific restorative treatment plan.
Your physiotherapist can help you to recognize your specific rotator cuff problem (such an injury to the tendon due to overuse, a partial tear, or a full tear of a muscle within the rotator cuff) and develop a specific physiotherapy program to resolve it.
It’s worth noting that a restorative workout program is distinct from a typical strength and conditioning plan.
A restorative workout plan is specifically designed to target your rehabilitative needs. This program is designed to target your weaknesses, pain points, range of motion, or other dysfunctions identified in the initial assessment.
This program is then progressed throughout your recovery to get you back to your individual goals, whether that be going for a walk, simply lifting your arm over your head, holding your grandchild, or rock climbing in Maui.
The workout program is developed to help you return to your regular activities as soon as possible. If you want to make sure your rotator cuff injury is dealt with appropriately, your physiotherapist will produce a restorative workout program of strength and conditioning that’s customized for you.
Be aware though, that most rotator cuff injuries are tendon injuries, and usually require 6-12 weeks to see significant improvement.
Your Rotator Cuff Injury May Require Stretching or Kinesiotaping
Depending on the degree of your rotator cuff injury, you may benefit from some light stretching or taping.
For instance, if you have a mild rotator cuff strain, your physiotherapist might advise that you attempt some stretching or taping to help relieve a portion of your discomfort and stiffness.
To be clear, this doesn’t always imply that you’ll need to remain in treatment for hours at a time.
Rather, your physiotherapist might suggest that you do some mild stretching or light taping at home prior to your therapy sessions and again after your treatment sessions.
Taping
Depending on the degree of your rotator cuff injury, you may benefit from some taping.There are a number of different types of taping your physiotherapist may use. One example it kinesiotape: this is a stretchy tape that can help with your body’s proprioception.
Proprioception is the concept of your body knowing where it is in space. Another example it Leukotape: this is a non-stretchy tape that can be used to support the joint.
Tape can help improve your pain experience, off-load the joint and help encourage improved movement patterns which may help with your recovery of your injury.
Stretching
Stretching may be used by your physiotherapists to improve your range of motion and improve your pain experience. There are different styles of stretching your physiotherapist may choose for you depending on your presentation.
For example; Dynamic Stretching is where you stretch through movement; Static stretching is where you hold a stretch at the end of your range of movement.
PNF stretching is a contract-relax technique where the physiotherapist will get you to push against them for a short length of time, and then relax.
Strength Stretching is a technique where you control a weight slowly toward the end of your range of motion – there is evidence that show strength stretching can be more effective and more time efficient than traditional static stretching. There is a time and place for each of these methods, and your physiotherapist will work through your plan with you to determine what is right for you.
You Might Benefit From Manual Treatment for Pain Management
One of the things that sets physiotherapy apart from other types of health care therapy is that it features a manual therapy element to deal with soft tissues.
What this signifies is that a physiotherapist will likely utilize some kind of manual treatment for pain management, such as myofascial release (MFR) or joint mobilization as part of a personalized treatment plan.
The myofascia are the tissues that support the muscles and give them structure. MFR is a massage-like technique that can be active or passive, and helps to release tight tissues, realign scar tissue, reduce swelling and improve flexibility.
Joint mobilization involves physiotherapists using their hands to administer pressure to your joints with passive movement. These joint movements can be very gentle for pain relief or more moderate for joint movement or stretching of the joint capsule.
Manual therapy can be considerably advantageous for people with rotator cuff injuries. This is because a common causative factor of rotator cuff problems is postural.
Your rotator cuff muscles are connected to your shoulder joint, which means they can get incredibly inflamed and unpleasant if they’re not working the proper way for an extended period.
One of the manual therapy techniques that can really help the shoulder imbalance related to this posture is a deep pressure to the back of the shoulder joint to stretch and mobilize this tight area.
This allows the shoulder joint to sit in a better position, which in turn releases pressure from the shoulder tissues including the rotator cuff, biceps tendon and shoulder.
Manual treatment can help to alleviate your discomfort, enhance your range of movement and assist your muscles to work more efficiently.
You Could Get Relief From Dry Needling
If your physiotherapist believes that dry needling or ultrasound therapy will be helpful for your rotator cuff injury, they’ll likely offer these treatments throughout your sessions.
Dry needling is a practice similar to acupuncture which targets the release of tight muscles. Muscles that are chronically tight do not have proper blood flow, which in turns contributes to a breakdown in the muscle/tendon complex. If we release tight muscles, they can finally relax and receive normal blood flow.
As with acupuncture, with dry needling your physiotherapist will apply very small needles to your muscles. Your physiotherapist may advise dry needling if they believe your rotator cuff injury is triggered by or worsened by tight muscles or muscle knots.
You May Need to Address Your Core Dysfunction
Your core is the area at the centre of your body where your back, stomach and hips come together. It is composed of muscles, tendons, ligaments, connective tissue surrounding your spine.
For example, your core muscles might become too weak, making them incapable of holding your shoulder blades together, leading to poor control of the shoulder blade during movement.
As a result, your shoulders will be pulled forward, which can put a great deal of pressure on your rotator cuff muscles. Your physiotherapist might suggest that you address your core if they observe that your rotator cuff injury is being brought on by issues related to your core musculature.
Your physiotherapist may suggest specific workouts or activities that you can do in your home or in the fitness center to help with your core.
Wrap Up
Rotator cuff injuries are often slow-healing and need a course of 6-12 weeks of treatment for complete recovery.
Thankfully, physiotherapy has a range of treatments readily available that are proven to help relieve rotator cuff pain and promote recovery of the rotator cuff muscles. It is essential to get started with your treatment as soon as possible after your injury.
The longer you push through the injury or avoid using the arm – the longer the rehabilitation process can take. Early intervention can reduce the time the injury takes to recover.. Contact a physiotherapist from Trimetrics for more details on how physiotherapy can help your rotator cuff injury.
Give the Trimetrics Physiotherapy a call today and we can schedule an initial appointment to relieve your rotator cuff discomfort. Now booking new clients!
