What causes shoulder pain?
The shoulder has more movement than almost any joint in your body, and that freedom comes at a price. To lift your arm fully overhead, the ball of the shoulder, the shoulder blade, the collarbone, the upper back and the neck all have to move together. When one link in that chain stops moving in its preferred path, the muscles around it spasm to protect it, and you feel pain, stiffness and a weakness that is not true weakness at all.
A frozen shoulder can make it feel as though your arm is stuck at your side. Much of that pain and lost motion comes from a secondary muscle spasm around joints that have stopped gliding. Movement starts at the joint level, so restoring the small, precise joint movements is what gives the shoulder back its full range.
Full shoulder elevation depends on full motion in your neck and upper back. If the joints of your mid back are stiff from sitting, or your neck is locked up, the shoulder is forced to make up the difference. That is why we treat the whole upper quadrant, not only the joint that hurts.
The rotator cuff tendons run through a tight space at the top of the shoulder. When the shoulder blade and the ball of the joint are not moving in sync, those tendons get pinched and irritated with every reach. Correcting the mechanics takes the pressure off and lets the irritated tissue calm down.
Repeated overhead work, lifting kids, swimming, throwing and racquet sports all ask a lot of the shoulder. Push past the range you can control and a joint can get stuck, leaving a nagging ache that rest alone never seems to clear.
After a fracture, a dislocation or shoulder surgery, scar tissue and protective guarding can limit motion long after the tissue has healed. Gentle joint facilitation and progressive loading help you recover the range and strength the injury took away.
Tissue naturally tightens while you sleep. If a shoulder joint is already stuck, lying on that side or with your arm overhead can add enough pressure to wake you up, and mornings start stiff. Restoring the joint's motion is what lets you sleep through the night again.
