County Osteopaths : Shoulder Pain and Stiffness : Frozen Shoulder

Common causes of shoulder pain and stiffness include muscular imbalances, joint stiffness and tendon problems.

Osteopathy may help with these by relieving muscular tension and stretching tight soft tissues across the shoulder girdle and throughout the upper back and neck. We may also advise you to do exercises as the shoulder is very dependant on muscular support for its health and stability.

Pain on raising the arm, particullarly to a certain angle, is a common symptom. Very often the pain starts after a seeminly minor incident but discomfort persists long after the initial event and may often get worse as time goes by.

Recurrent dislocations of the shoulder may lead to long term, deep muscular tension around the shoulder that starts off protective but in time may become problematic in itself.

Subluxation of the acromio-clavicular (AC) joint, which may occur when falling on the shoulder or banging into something with the front of the shoulder e.g in contact sports such as Rugby, can cause pain if the surrounding muscles find it difficult to support the joint. Osteopathic treatment to the whole shoulder girdle and upper back may help the situation.