Shoulder Complaints

Your Story:

I spent the day in the garden and woke up the next day with pain trying to raise my arm over my head. Sleep was uncomfortable last night and now it’s hard putting on my jumper and washing my hair. I’ve tried ibuprofen and heat; it soothes it but it’s not going away.

Condition: Trigger Point

All shoulder mobility comes from the rotator cuff, made up of four major muscles whose job is to move the arm in all directions. Although you can injure the tendons and all these symptoms can match a tendon issue, it is very likely the muscles themselves are the source of the pain. Have you ever had a muscle KNOT? We call this a trigger point, where a bunch of muscle fibres overworked get stuck in the contracted position. Muscles aren’t very smart; if they get stuck, they don’t know it and have no reason to return to normal. If it is stuck, it is burning fuel all the time and complains when you ask it to do it’s job.

Assessment and Treatment:

This person’s signs and symptoms matched a build-up of a muscle trigger point. Difficulty going through its full range of motion with referred pain in the lateral upper arm, maybe even some upper shoulder and side of the neck stiffness. The fastest way to reset the muscle to its normal length and endurance is with a treatment of Trigger Point Dry Needling. Coming from the practice of Acupuncture, using the same type of needle (dry needle/solid filament/not a hollow needle), invading the muscle know cause it to involuntarily contract and untie itself. After a night of rest you are likely able to raise your arm above your head again with no or little complaint from the muscle. If caught early, this condition is usually completely undone with 2 treatments.