Shoulder Pain in Coburg: Myotherapy Can Help You

Shoulder pain is a common presentation I get to see and treat here at my Myotherapy Clinic in Coburg. It ranges from clients who have difficulty reaching overhead to those who have no mobility issues but a constant pain or ache along the shoulder blade area.

Myotherapy treatment can help with this presentation, settling the pain once and for all, by guiding you on what structures need tension relief and which ones need strength. So if you are looking for shoulder pain treatment in Coburg, it is important to understand that shoulder pain does not always come from one specific muscle or structure. The shoulder works as part of a larger movement system involving the neck, upper back, shoulder blade, rotator cuff and the rest of the arm.

What Can Cause Shoulder Pain?

Let’s start by pointing out what structures can create shoulder pain.

Some people notice pain after lifting weights, playing sport or performing repetitive movements. Others develop shoulder pain gradually without a clear injury.

Common factors associated with shoulder pain can include:

• Repetitive overhead movements
• Sudden increases in training load
• Poor tolerance to certain movements
• Reduced shoulder mobility
• Reduced strength or endurance
• Rotator cuff-related pain
• Irritation following an injury
• Neck and upper-back problems contributing to symptoms
• Changes in activity or training
• Prolonged periods of inactivity
• Cervical facet joint irritation
• Bursitis

The tricky bit with any pain, including shoulder pain, is that the painful spot does not always tell you exactly which structure is responsible.

That’s why, along with our Remedial Massage or Myotherapy treatment, an initial consultation always comes with an assessment first.

We want to pin down, at best, what structure is responsible for your pain.

A classic example is: muscle or joint pain?

Shoulder Pain Is Not Always Just a Shoulder Problem

As briefly explained before, your shoulder does not work alone, as it takes part in a more complex mobility and stability joint complex system. That said, the shoulder is also one of the weakest and most exposed joints in the body, given that it has to have really major mobility capacity, but it is also required to play a strong, stable role (scapular/thoracic joint).

So what actually can influence your shoulder capacity and load; therefore, what can also influence your shoulder pain is your neck, your thoracic spine, and even your elbow area.

For example, reaching overhead requires coordinated movement between the shoulder joint and shoulder blade. Your upper back and neck also influence how this movement occurs.

This is why two people with similar shoulder pain may require completely different treatment approaches.

One person may need to improve shoulder strength.

Another may need to work on mobility.

Someone else may need to gradually rebuild their tolerance to lifting or overhead activity.

Common Types of Shoulder Pain

From what I get to experience as a practitioner here at Melbourne Massage and Treatment in Coburg, shoulder pain can present in many different ways.

I did see clients who present with shoulder pain while:

• Lifting the arm at any degree
• Pain reaching overhead
• Pain when reaching behind the back
• Pain when sleeping on the affected side
• Pain during gym exercises
• Shoulder stiffness
• Reduced range of movement
• Pain around the front or side of the shoulder
• Pain extending towards the upper arm
• Shoulder pain associated with neck tension

That said, we have to be aware that some shoulder problems can also develop gradually, while others occur following a specific injury.

What I would suggest about your shoulder pain is that if you experience severe pain, following a significant trauma, and having major weakness or loss of movement, appropriate medical assessment may be required. So do not hesitate to book in a Myotherapy session, and let’s start understanding how serious your presentation is.

What About Rotator Cuff Pain?

The rotator cuff, which is a group of muscles that surround your humerus head and give stability to the humeral head, is important for shoulder health, but occasionally it can be overlooked and blamed for your shoulder pain.

While this group of muscles needs to be strong in order to minimise the chance of shoulder pain, we have to consider that, taken alone, they are not going to be the only muscles you want to focus on for your shoulder health.

Therefore, let’s not automatically label it as a “rotator cuff injury” simply because it hurts during a particular movement.

A proper assessment considers your symptoms, movement, strength, training history and how your shoulder responds to different loads.

Can my Shoulder Pain be Part of Menopause Symptoms?

Yes, it can.

Menopause, as discussed in many other blogs, is a life-changing experience that women experience at an average age of 52 years.

Along this transformational journey, as estrogen starts fading away, conditions like Frozen Shoulder (Adhesive capsulitis) are quite common.

In a more recent study by MD Jocelyn Wittstein, women who were suffering from this condition and took HRT saw their symptoms drastically improve.

More information about menopause and Frozen Shoulder is available from this article.

How Can Myotherapy Help Shoulder Pain?

At Melbourne Massage and Treatment here in Coburg, when someone presents with shoulder pain and wants to get on top of what the problem is, I do offer Myotherapy treatment as a form of pain relief but also as a form of strengthening program for the shoulder complex.

So I would treat shoulder pain in Coburg with a combination of:

• Movement assessment
• Hands-on treatment
• Soft tissue techniques
• Myofascial techniques
• Joint mobilisation where appropriate
• Dry needling where appropriate
• Mobility exercises
• Strengthening exercises
• Education about activity and load management

My aim, again, as a clinical myotherapist, is not to make you feel better only after the treatment, but to give you tools to empower yourself and to make you stronger and live better, possibly pain-free.

To do so, in the longer term, we need to understand what may be contributing to your symptoms and gradually improve your ability to move and load the shoulder.

Shoulder Mobility Is Important — But Strength Matters Too

Again, the shoulder is a mobile joint, and it is important to ensure that it’s capable of delivering a certain range of motion. But we have to be aware that, given the exposed shoulder structure and the fact that the humerus (the upper arm bone) is hanging off the shoulder socket by a few ligaments, this is one of the weakest joints we have in the body.

So that’s where strengthening the rotator cuff, but even muscles like the lat. dorsal, and trap. muscles and rhomboids are important to ensure we keep the stability of this joint strong.

This awareness gets even more important when we look at someone who presents with hypermobility.

So to ensure that we reduce shoulder pain, we want to hit those exercises with weights and resistance. And if you are not sure where to start, because of your shoulder pain or because you are inexperienced with strength training, please reach out and let’s start your fitness journey together.

Should You Stop Exercising When Your Shoulder Hurts?

Stopping exercise because you are in pain should be considered only in the short term. A better approach would be to modify the exercise routine to accommodate your pain presentation.

This is because completely avoiding movement for an extended period of time, is just going to make that specific area or structure even more weak, and eventually this attitude is going to put you in a place of movement avoidance, like: “oh no, I can’t use my shoulder, because I will be in pain”.

So things that we can lookinto, to modify your shoulder exercises is like:

• Reducing the weight
• Decrease the number of repetitions
• Adjusting exercise range
• Temporarily changing an exercise
• Reducing training volume
• Gradually rebuilding overhead movement

Once the pain is under control and you feel confident with your shoulder, we can start to re-increase the repetitions, the load, and the resistance.

Completely stopping because of pain is never a solution to your pain problem.

And of course, as we are all different in terms of pain presentation, and even daily habits and exercise load, each of us needs an individual approach to the presentation.

What Shoulder Pathology do we treat at Melbourne Massage and Treatment?

Along the many shoulder pathologies I get to treat, I can recall:

• Frozen Shoulder
• Bursitis
• Muscle Tear
• Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy
• Generic Shoulder Pain

For some of these conditions, on top of hands-on treatment, I also offer Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT), which can help assist your recovery in case of chronic conditions and tissue tears.

When to Come For A Myotherapy Session in Coburg for Your Shoulder Pain?

For any muscular or skeletal pain or injury, you may consider coming for a Myotherapy session here at Melbourne Massage and Treatment in Coburg when the pain lasts for more than 72 hours, or it is stopping you from doing daily activities.

But let’s also keep in mind:

• Your pain has persisted or keeps returning
• Shoulder movement is becoming restricted
• You are avoiding activities because of pain
• Your shoulder pain is affecting your training
• You are experiencing pain at night
• You have difficulty lifting your arm
• Your symptoms started after an injury
• You are unsure how to return to exercise

A Myotherapy assessment can help determine whether your symptoms are appropriate for conservative treatment or whether a referral to a GP may be needed for further investigation.

Shoulder Pain Treatment in Coburg

If you are experiencing shoulder pain in Coburg, and you decide to book a session with me, I want to assure you that your presentation will be considered unique and not part of a one-size-fits-all approach.

At Melbourne Massage and Treatment, I combine myotherapy, hands-on treatment, movement assessment and exercise to help clients improve pain, mobility and physical function.

Therefore, not only am I going to see how your shoulder moves or functions, but also how your thoracic spine moves, how your neck feels, and ask questions like:

• When did the pain start?
• What helps?
• What makes it worse?
• Is this a first-time pain?
• What do you do for a living?
• Past and Current sports activities?

To tailor the treatment to your individual presentation, it is important to understand your unique story behind your pain, and not assume that just a massage would help you feel better.

Book A Myotherapy Session Now For Your Shoulder Pain in Coburg

Frequently Asked Questions About Shoulder Pain in Coburg