Shoulder Pain

Seeking early treatment for shoulder pain prevents chronic pain and ongoing shoulder instability that limits your activities. At Iowa Chiropractic Clinic & Sports Injuries in Altoona, Ankeny, and Grimes, Iowa, Aaron Martin, DC, and the skilled chiropractic team have extensive experience diagnosing and treating shoulder pain. To learn how chiropractic therapies can ease your pain and strengthen your shoulder, use the online booking feature or call the nearest office today.

What causes shoulder pain?

Shoulder pain can arise from any part of your shoulder, which includes several major muscles, the rotator cuff (a group of four muscles), a rim of cartilage around the joint (labrum), and two joints (where your upper arm joins the socket in the shoulder blade and the junction of the collarbone and shoulder blade).

Athletic activities, falls, and car accidents often cause acute shoulder pain. But everyone is vulnerable to shoulder problems because daily arm movements lead to strains and overuse injuries.

The conditions that frequently cause shoulder pain include:

• Osteoarthritis
• Rotator cuff tear
• Labral tear
• Shoulder dislocation
• Shoulder fractures
• Shoulder impingement
• Frozen shoulder
• Biceps tears or tendinopathy
• Tendonitis
• Bursitis

Rotator cuff injuries usually affect the tendons connecting the muscles to bones.

What symptoms accompany shoulder pain? 

If you have shoulder pain, there’s a good chance you have additional symptoms, such as:

• Arm weakness
• Difficulty using your arm
• Pain when using your arm
• Muscle spasms
• Joint clicking
• Limited shoulder and arm movement
• Bruising and swelling

You may also feel like the upper arm is going to come out of the joint. This condition, shoulder instability, can become a long-lasting problem without immediate treatment for the underlying injury.

How is shoulder pain treated?

After evaluating your shoulder and performing digital X-rays, the team at Iowa Chiropractic Clinic & Sports Injuries often begins shoulder pain treatment by limiting movement. They may completely immobilize the joint or support it with taping.

Avoiding movement is essential for letting the injured tissues heal. And full healing is the only way to restore optimal strength and movement to your shoulder and arm.

The team also specializes in therapies that accelerate healing and can be applied while your shoulder heals. For example, they may recommend Multiwave Locked System (MLS) laser therapy, therapeutic ultrasound, and electrical muscle stimulation. 

These therapies use different techniques to reduce inflammation, trigger healing activities in cells, strengthen the tissues, and ease your pain.

As your shoulder heals, your provider expands your chiropractic care. They may recommend extremity adjustments, neck and back manipulation, and exercises to restore the shoulder’s mobility.

Iowa Chiropractic Clinic & Sports Injuries offers comprehensive care for shoulder pain. To learn more about the benefit of chiropractic care for your shoulder, call the nearest or request an appointment online today.