Shoulder Pain: Causes and Exercises

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Shoulders are the most mobile joints of the human body. It has a large range of movement since it is a ball and socket joint. Shoulder pain is a very common complaint as shoulders are extremely susceptible to injury. Shoulder pain could also be a symptom of a more serious disease.

It is important to understand the cause for shoulder pain to undertake the accurate treatment. The most common causes for shoulder pain are as follows.

Bad Posture: Having a bad posture can cause shoulder pain. One must take care to sit up straight and not slouch.

Frozen Shoulders: There is a stiffness in your shoulders, and movement is made painful. It prevents you from carrying out your normal movements, making it difficult to perform day-to-day functions like sleeping, driving etc.

Rotator Cuff Disorder: Shoulder pain is caused by any damage to tendons, including tears, in the rotator cuff. Such damage may be caused due to falling, lifting and repetitive arm activities.

Tears: Tearing of muscle or tendons will cause severe pain and weakness in the shoulders.

Shoulder Instability: Since the shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint, shoulder pain occurs when the ball does not move properly in the socket.

Separated Shoulder: This injury occurs when the ligaments of the joint, where the top of your shoulder blade meets the end of your collarbone are damaged.

Dislocated Shoulder: When the upper arm bone pops-out of the shoulder socket, it is called dislocated shoulder. This injury is very painful and requires immediate medical attention.

If your shoulder pain is not severe enough to warrant medical attention and arise due to causes like arthritis, bad posture or overexertion, it can be treated with exercises. A few exercises to alleviate shoulder pain are given below.

Shoulder Stretch: Stand upright, raise your shoulders and hold for 5 minutes. Squeeze your shoulder blades back and hold for 5 minutes. Push your shoulder blades down and hold for another 5 minutes. Relax your shoulders and repeat 10 times in the same order.

Mock Spider: Stand in front of a wall and place your hand flat on it. Use your fingers to climb the wall like a spider. Freeze and hold your position every 10 seconds or so. Try to climb as far as possible.

Upper-body Exercises: Exercises used to strengthen the upper-body like shoulder press and bench press will prevent the chances of shoulder injuries.

Rotation Exercise: Stand with one hand leaning on a chair. Relax your other hand and move it in a circular motion like a pendulum, pointing it to the ground for 2 minutes. Now rotate it in the other direction for two minutes. Repeat the exercise 5 times.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.