Sit Up Straight: How Poor Posture Can Cause Shoulder Impingement

Have you been experiencing moderate to severe shoulder pain? If you notice your shoulder feeling tight or have trouble raising it above your head to reach things on shelves, you might have a condition referred to as “shoulder impingement.”

This can be extremely painful to deal with, and if it goes untreated, it can cause several problems down the road. Thankfully, physical therapy can help! Contact TheraFit™ today to learn more about our safe and effective treatment options for this condition.

What Is Shoulder Impingement?

In most parts of your body, your bones are surrounded by muscles and tendons that allow you to move around freely. Your shoulder is a little different though because it’s actually made up of three bones. These bones are the humerus, or arm bone, the scapula or shoulder blade, and the clavicle or collarbone.

Instead of being “covered” in tendons and muscles, these three bones are attached to one another by something called a “rotator cuff.” At the top of your arm bone, there is a lubricating sac called the bursa, that allows the rotator cuff to move freely when you move your arm.

If the bursa becomes inflamed, or if the rotator cuff tendons become damaged, the result can be significant pain in the shoulder. However, when you raise your arm to shoulder height, the space between the rotator cuff and the bone at the top of your shoulder (referred to as the acromion) narrows. The acromion can rub against the tendon or bursa leading to shoulder impingement.

What Causes this?

Normally, shoulder impingement is caused by overhead repetitive motions. Construction workers, painters, swimmers, tennis players, baseball players, and weight lifters are all highly susceptible to shoulder impingement.

However, athletes are not the only ones that can be affected by this condition or find themselves unable to lift their arm over their head without pain! Shoulder impingement is caused by the shortening of the space between the acromion and the rotator cuff. Having poor posture can also shorten that space. The posture we hold while working, typing, reading, texting, eating, cooking, and exercising can all have an impact on the amount of subacromial space we have available on our shoulders.

Symptoms

It is very common for people who suffer from shoulder impingement to find that they have difficulty lifting their arm above their head. They might be unable to lift something overhead or have trouble putting on a shirt or jacket.

As previously stated, if left untreated, shoulder impingement will cause more problems. For example, it will wear down the tendons or bursa in the shoulder, and cause a tear to occur in the rotator cuff. This often requires surgery to repair it, which can not only be extremely expensive but also keep you in recovery mode for quite some time.

You might be wondering how you can know for sure that you are dealing with this condition. According to WebMD, “Diagnosis of impingement syndrome begins with a medical history and physical exam by your doctor. X-rays will be taken to rule out arthritis and may show changes in the bone that indicate injury of the muscle. Bone spurs or changes in the normal contour of the bone may be present.”

How Physical Therapy Can Help!

It doesn’t matter what motion caused your shoulder impingement. The first goal when experiencing this condition should be to reduce the inflammation in your joint. You can do this through anti-inflammatory medications or the application of ice when pain occurs. Once your inflammation has been reduced, the best way to get rid of shoulder impingement pain for good is to see a physical therapist.

A physical therapist will be able to perform a thorough physical examination and rule out other underlying causes for your pain. They will also create a customized treatment plan designed just for you and your symptoms. Treatment is likely to include avoiding repetitive, overhead motions for a time, but it will also include stretches to reduce the impingement and strengthening exercises to prevent it from recurring.

If your shoulder impingement is due to having poor posture, your physical therapist is also likely to recommend adjustments to improve it. Making sure you have an ergonomic workspace, including your chair, desk, and computer screen height can do wonders for improving your posture. Stretching appropriately throughout the day will all treat the underlying cause of your shoulder impingement and keep it from coming back.

Contact Our Office For Treatment Today

Whether you are experiencing shoulder impingement from poor posture or from repetitive tasks, this condition is not something to be taken lightly! If you are experiencing pain when you move your arms overhead or are struggling to do simple tasks such as get dressed, talk to a physical therapist today at our clinic. The sooner your condition is assessed and treated, the fewer problems you’ll have to deal with in the future. Contact us today or visit us in Hazel Green, AL Fayetteville, TN to learn more!

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How Physical Therapy can Put an End to Nagging Headaches

The minute you feel that familiar pain and pressure coming on, you know you’re in for a bad time. Headaches are regrettable commonplace in today’s world, with 80 to 90 percent of Americans enduring a tension headache at some point or other. But while some headaches are caused by biochemical imbalances, hypertension, tumors or other causes, many of them are the direct result of musculoskeletal problems. Fortunately, physical therapy is tailor-made to address and correct musculoskeletal problems, including the issues behind chronic headache pain. Let’s examine how our physical therapist can help you get rid of those nagging headaches the natural way.

The Musculoskeletal Causes of Headaches

You’ve probably heard of tension headaches, but you may not realize that the tension refers, not to emotional tension, but to muscular tension in the neck. Although emotional tension can certainly promote this muscular tension, so can underlying physical imbalances, weaknesses or damage. A traumatic injury to the neck such as whiplash is a prime example, with torn neck muscles and strained connective tissues referring agonizing pain to the head, face and shoulders as well as the neck.

Tension Headaches and the Dura Mater

But the classic tension headache is caused by a more subtle form of strain. Repetitive motions or poor neck/head posture that place the neck muscles under constant strain may also pull upon a sensitive membrane known as the dura mater. The dura mater envelops the brain, and at the base of the skull, it lies in close proximity to small muscles such as the RCPM muscle. When these muscles go into spasm, the dura mater gets tugged – and it reacts by sending pain messages into the head.

Cervicogenic Headaches

Cervicogenic headaches are another kind of neck-related head pain. These headaches involve the topmost three vertebrae of the neck. Some cervicogenic headaches are caused by concussions or arthritis, but work-related strain is another potential trigger. People who typically droop their heads downward for many hours a day (hairdressers, long-haul drivers, smartphone addicts, etc.) are prone to these headaches.

Our Physical Therapist Can Provide Natural Headache Pain Relief

Drugs can’t do much more than offer pain relief for an isolated headache, which isn’t good enough if you suffer from chronic headache pain. Our physical therapist will start by evaluating your posture, asking you about your symptoms and medical history, and study X-rays or other diagnostic data from your primary care physician to figure out the biomechanical origins of your chronic headache problem. A detailed physical therapy program can then be formulated to address your specific musculoskeletal issues.

Physical therapy can relieve chronic headaches in a number of ways. Exercises to loosen, lengthen and relax the muscles of the neck can be highly effective at easing the spasms that set off tension headaches. You may also benefit from exercises such as the supra-clavicle release, which strengthens neck muscles weakened by postural imbalances. If tension in the fascia of the jaw or face are contributing to your neck tension and headaches, a lying-down posture with the relevant trigger points resting on a tennis ball can release that tension.

Exercises are only one aspect of physical therapy to relieve headaches. Our physical therapist may also prescribe massage therapy, ultrasound and lifestyle recommendations to help you stop sabotaging your neck and head in your everyday activities. This holistic approach can free you from your headache problem – as well as freeing you from a reliance on pain-relieving drugs.

Start Feeling Better – Talk to Our Physical Therapist

If you’re ready to enjoy serious, lasting headache pain relief, it’s time to talk to our physical therapist. Call our office today!

Stress is nothing more than our reaction to a provocation that upsets our physical and/or mental equilibrium. Therefore, stress is an inevitable part of life. Nevertheless, when we are faced with stress, our “fight or flight” response can be triggered; this causes the production of hormones including adrenaline and cortisol to increase and rush through your body.

Stress is nothing more than our reaction to a provocation that upsets our physical and/or mental equilibrium. Therefore, stress is an inevitable part of life. Nevertheless, when we are faced with stress, our “fight or flight” response can be triggered; this causes the production of hormones including adrenaline and cortisol to increase and rush through your body.