shoulder pain - Physical Therapy Articles & Insights

Home Exercise Program Improves Pain, Function, and Medication Use In Patients With Shoulder Pain

June 19, 2020

Physical Therapy strengthening exercises remain the first line treatment for patients with shoulder diagnoses including impingement and rotator cuff pain. While immediate gains in range of motion and pain can be found using spinal and extremity manual therapy interventions, long term outcomes are achieved through a focused strength training program. Exercises are prescribed to target...

neck pain

How Many Times Should I Perform My Exercises To Relieve Neck Pain?

May 18, 2020

Neck pain remains one of the constants in life along with death, taxes, and low back pain. Thankfully, similar to low back pain, the vast majority of neck pain (although painful) is not serious in nature. Prior research has shown a Physical Therapy treatment program consisting of manual therapy and exercise helps accelerate a patient’s...

Arm Injuries

The Protective Effect Of Post Operative Shoulder Stiffness

March 24, 2020

Post operatively, I am normally concerned with two presentations in patients. Patient’s with significant post operative range of motion and those with minimal to no pain have the highest risk of tearing their repaired tissues due to the lack of protection from either stiffness or post operative pain. Patients may incorrectly assume the absence of...

Arm Injuries

What Are The Best Treatments For Shoulder Pain?

March 10, 2020

Shoulder pain is one of the most common reasons patients seek the care of a primary care physician and Physical Therapist. Shoulder impingement or the compression of soft tissue structures, including the rotator cuff tendons, between the bones and ligaments of the shoulder remains the most common diagnosis behind these symptoms. Physical Therapy is the...

Arm Injuries

Can Physical Therapy Help With A Rotator Cuff Tear?

January 17, 2020

Rotator cuff tears are a common injury in middle to older aged adults. Tears can be gradual or degenerative in nature associated prior injury (tendinopathy) or acute and traumatic from a fall or sudden trauma to the shoulder. The severity of the injury including tear depth and size, as well as, the number of tears...

Arm Injuries

No Effect Found For Shock Wave Or Laser Treatments On Shoulder Pain

November 17, 2019

Very few evidence based treatments for musculoskeletal pain require the utilization of electricity. One notable exception is the utilization of muscular stimulation on post operative musculature. This category of treatments under the larger umbrella of modalities have not fared well in the research due to having little or no effect, their inability to beat a...

Arm Injuries

Energetic, Outgoing Physical Therapists Achieve Better Treatment Results

September 22, 2019

An important shift has taken place in medicine away from the old paternalistic model of care toward the development of the therapeutic alliance. Patients are now encouraged to engage and interact with their medical providers in order to find an optimal path forward. The alliance aims to incorporate patient values and expectations, the best available...

Arm Injuries

Should I Undergo Surgery Or Physical Therapy For My Shoulder Pain?

July 5, 2019

Shoulder pain remains one of the top 3 reasons patients seek care from their primary care physician and Physical Therapist. The most common diagnosis causing pain among these patients is subacromial impingement syndrome. Impingement can be found along with rotator cuff tendon pain (tendinopathy) or partial rotator cuff tears on clinical exam and imaging. Impingement...

Arm Injuries

Physical Therapy Shown To Accelerate Recovery After Rotator Cuff Injury Compared To Wait And See

June 3, 2019

Shoulder pain remains the 3rd most common reason, behind the common cold and low back pain, patients seek out the care of their primary care providers. Impingement and rotator cuff tendon pain are the most common diagnoses associated with these symptoms. The vast majority of rotator cuff injuries do not require surgical intervention and patients...

Arm Injuries

Does Treatment Of Trigger Points Improve Outcomes For Patients With Rotator Cuff Injury?

April 19, 2019

Rotator cuff injuries span the spectrum from acute strains to chronic tendon pain (tendinopathy) and rotator cuff tears. Physical Therapy remains the gold standard, first line treatment for all rotator cuff injuries due to its’ cost and clinical effectiveness treating these disorders. A Physical Therapy first strategy has been reinforced by recent research demonstrating equivalent...

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