The fix for shoulder pain.
Do you ever get shoulder pain that pops, cracks, clicks or snaps when you move your arm? The fix isn’t what you thought, so if this sounds like you keep reading!
“The comment I hear most often when examining a shoulder is “Hear that popping? It does that all the time! Is that normal?”
It usually starts with a small pop or click in the shoulder that is easy to ignore. Then you notice some stiffness reaching behind into the backseat, to put on your jacket or do up your bra. Soon lifting your arm starts to cause pain so you start using the other arm more. Pushing, throwing or swinging leave the shoulder feeling warm, tender and sore. Finally, sleeping on your side causes terrible pain in the morning.
You become frustrated, out of shape and grumpy. You avoid using the arm, limit exercise and sports and now can’t even sleep in your favorite position. This is the point most people seek expert help, but the popping, cracking, clicking and snapping were the first sign of imbalance.
“The shoulder making noises when moving the arm is often the first sign of imbalance and something not working the way it should, even if there is little or no pain.”
Keep reading if this is you. The fix isn’t what you think, but it can boost your mood, energy and fitness by getting back a shoulder that works again.
The Fix
Keep the ball on the tee!
The shoulder is a lot like a golf ball sitting on a golf tee. It’s a large ball sitting on a shallow cup. Many muscles, tendons, and ligaments cross the shoulder to keep the ball on the tee.
When the ball rolls centered on the tee things go smooth. When the ball rolls off-center tension builds creating a pop, click, crack or snap sound when the arm moves. If the ball rolls even more off-center the things trying to hold it in place get injured. Stiffness, soreness and pain in the shoulder results.
So how do you keep the ball on the tee to maintain a healthy mobile and strong shoulder? Here’s how we fix faulty shoulder balance.
Balance muscles across the shoulder joint
Tight, sore and weak shoulder muscles cause shifting of the ball on the tee. We release the tight and painful muscles and strengthen the weak ones to keep the ball on the tee.
Balance muscles to the shoulder blade
Tight, sore and weak muscles to the shoulder blade pull the tee out from under the ball. We release the tight and painful muscles and strengthen the weak ones to keep the tee under the ball.
Balance the back and neck
The back and base of the neck form the foundation for the shoulder. We treat the neck and back so that the ball and tee sit on level ground.
You might be thinking the problem will go away if you rest it.
Yes, avoiding activities like pressing or side sleeping aid recovery. We encourage this early on in treatment to help patients get relief. But, rest alone will not restore balance. The problem is still there when you go back to using the arm again.
If you’ve read until now you likely need help with shoulder pain. Send me a message and let me know your story.
“Addressing the shoulder, shoulder blade and back is the key to balancing the shoulder and stopping the pain cycle.”
I had a patient who had chronic shoulder pain. It’d get better with rest, but always came back when he would go back to golfing and working out. He told me it started clicking and popping when he was younger. Then he tore his rotator cuff 20 years ago and it’d never been the same since.
The pain was not terrible, but he couldn’t reach behind his back. It didn’t take much before it would get sore so he had to avoid a lot of exercises. If he slept on the shoulder he would regret it the next morning.
He had written it off as his “bad” shoulder and did not feel like there was anything he could do about it. He figured he would need surgery for it one day when it got bad enough.
When he came to me for help I had a look and told him I could help, but I would have to work on more than his shoulder. We needed to work on his shoulder, back and neck first to free up anything that was sore or tight. Then test for weakness around the shoulder and strengthen what we found.
Today he golfs as much as he wants, presses weights overhead and even sleeps on his shoulder (even though I ask him not to). His health, mood and even every level is better because we found balance in his shoulder.
If any of this relates to you, you’re not alone. I love treating shoulders and I’ve helped a lot of patients regain healthy and strong shoulders.
If you have shoulder pain or notice some popping, cracking and discomfort moving your arm send me a message. Let me know your story. Let’s see if we can get the ball back on the tee!
