Shoulder Pain

The shoulder is a ball and socket joint with a large range of movement. Such mobile joints can be more susceptible to injury. Some causes of shoulder pain include strains from overexertion, tendonitis from overuse, shoulder joint instability, dislocation, collar or upper arm bone fractures, frozen shoulder, and pinched nerves.  Rainier Physical Therapy's staff seeks to treat these conditions.

Shoulder Arthritis: Your risk of developing osteoarthritis of the shoulder with its pain and physical limitations increases with age. However, an injury, such as a dislocated shoulder, can lead to shoulder osteoarthritis even in young people.

Shoulder Separation: Shoulder separation is an injury to the junction between the collarbone and the shoulder. It may occur after a fall, or a sharp blow to the top of the shoulder, and is usually sports-related.

Dislocated Shoulder: A fall or blow may cause the top of your arm bone to pop out of the shoulder socket. In severe cases of dislocated shoulder, the tissue and nerves around the shoulder joint get damaged. When you have the misfortune of wrenching your shoulder upward and backward, you may dislocate it out of its socket. Most shoulder dislocations happen at the lower front of the shoulder.

Biceps Tendonitis: Your biceps tendons attach the biceps muscle to bones in the shoulder and in the elbow. While tendonitis does not mean a tear has occurred, a tear may develop over time if the stress on the tendon is not modified. If you tear the biceps tendon at the shoulder, you may lose some strength in your arm and be unable to forcefully turn your arm from palm down to palm up.

Frozen Shoulder-Adhesive Capsulitis: Frozen shoulder is stiffness, pain, and limited range of movement in your shoulder that may follow an injury. The tissues around the joint stiffen, scar tissue forms, and shoulder movements become difficult and painful.

Labrum Tear: The shoulder joint has three bones: the shoulder blade (scapula), the collarbone (clavicle), and the upper arm bone (humerus). These three bones meet to form the shoulder socket. Injuries to the tissue rim (labrum) surrounding the shoulder socket can occur from acute trauma or repetitive shoulder motion.

Rotator Cuff Injury: The rotator cuff is a group of four tendons and muscles that converge around the top of the humerus, the upper arm bone above the elbow. Too much stress can cause partial tears and swelling in the tendons of the rotator cuff.

Shoulder Impingement: Impingement syndrome is a common condition affecting the shoulder and is often seen in aging adults. When an injury occurs to the rotator cuff muscles, which encase the shoulder joint, they respond by swelling.

Fractures of the Shoulder: Fracture type about the shoulder varies with age. The majority of fractures in children occur in the clavicle. In the adult, fractures within the upper part of the arm (proximal humerus) occur more frequently with increasing age. Some fractures may occur with dislocation of the shoulder joint.

Shoulder Replacement: Surgery can help relieve pain and restore function in severely diseased shoulder joints. During shoulder replacement, a surgeon cuts away damaged bone and cartilage from your shoulder bone and replaces it with an artificial joint made of metal alloys, high-grade plastics, and polymers.

Contact our physical therapy clinic today to find out how we can help you find relief from your shoulder pain. We proudly serve patients of Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, as well as those in Adams Township, Beaver, Economy, Freedom, Mars, Pittsburgh, Sewickley, Seven Fields, and surrounding areas.