Physical Therapy for Shoulder Tendinitis

Shoulder pain is a common complain among adults. This condition occurs due to inflammation of the muscles around the shoulder joint. Therefore, it is called shoulder tendinitis. Shoulder  is the place where your upper arm is connected to the axial skeletal through the shoulder girdle. This joint is composed of three bones, namely the humerus, scapula, and the clavicle. The head of the humerus is inserted in to the shoulder socket (glenoid fossa). This socket is not very deep because it is designed to allow a wide range of motion to the upper limb. Therefore, there are a lot of muscles around this joint to make it more stable. These muscles include the rotator cuff muscles. There are bursae (lubricating sacs) between these rotator cuff tendons and the bones. Their main function is to prevent friction between the tendons and the bones.

Shoulder tendinitis  occurs when these rotator cuff tendons get inflamed. Shoulder tendinitis can occur in both athletes and in normal people. In normal people, it occurs when they engage in activities that involves sudden overhead movement of the arm. The incidence is more when the person’s age is 40 years or more. In athletes, the condition occurs mainly due to repetitive use of the tendons.   

There are several treatment methods  available for this condition. But, you should keep in mind that prevention is always better than treatment. So, learn the correct postures during exercising and during engaging in sports. Physical therapy is a known treatment method for shoulder tendinitis. It restores the range of movements and helps to relieve the pain and weakness it causes.

Before starting physical therapy, the inflammation must be settled. When the tendons get inflamed, they show the cardinal features of inflammation. These features are edema, rising of temperature, vasodilatation, pain and loss of function. These effects can be relieved by getting enough rest, keeping ice and by using anti-inflammatory drugs. Physical therapy, which is performed under the guidance of a physical therapists starts once the acute phase of the illness is relieved. Physical therapists are capable of identifying the tendons that are involves and assign exercises that are specific to those particular tendons.

Physical therapy for shoulder tendinitis is given in a stepwise manner. First the range of motion is restored. This is followed by stretching, stabilizing and strengthening the shoulder joint. The therapist performs the movements manually to acquire the required range of motion with minimum amount of pain.  The next step is stretching. The trapezius and the pectoralis major and minor are the muscles which are usually tight and therefore require stretching to loosen them up. These muscles are not always tight, so they need to be evaluated before starting the exercises. Stabilizing exercises are designed to improve endurance of the shoulder joint muscles. The success of these exercises depends on the use of proper technique. Strengthening exercises are begun only if all the above steps are completed successfully. Strengthening exercises should be done by using the proper technique. If not the tendons can get damaged again.