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Shrug-Off-Shoulder-Pain-Through-Physical-Therapy-Treatment
Shrug Off Shoulder Pain Through Physical Therapy Treatment

Did you know that your shoulders are the most moveable and flexible joints in your body? They’re made up of a variety of muscles, tendons, and bones, and they’re pretty complicated structures! Your shoulders are what allow you to move around and complete many of your responsibilities during the day. They are capable of a great deal, but they are also extremely vulnerable to injury. If you’ve been suffering from shoulder pain, our physical therapy services can help you discover natural relief.

Call Dubuque Physical Therapy in Dubuque, IA to discover more about how we can help you go back to your normal life without shoulder pain!

Common causes of shoulder pain

Shoulder pain can be caused by a variety of underlying factors. A sudden injury or damage to the shoulders, for example, can make them uncomfortable. Repetitive activities can also create shoulder pain by overworking your muscles, joints, and tendons.

Physical therapy can help with a variety of issues that may be causing the pain or discomfort you’re experiencing in your shoulder. The following are some of the most common causes of shoulder pain:

  • Frozen shoulder. Frozen shoulder is a painful ailment that develops after prolonged periods of immobility, such as being in a sling or cast following an injury. Over time, this condition will deteriorate, causing discomfort and stiffness. Physical therapy can help provide relief while you are recovering. It usually corrects itself after a number of years. It may also aid to hasten the healing process.
  • Torn cartilage. When cartilage tears, you may experience a number of painful symptoms. You may experience decreased strength and a limited range of motion in the affected shoulder. You may also experience pain when moving your arm in certain ways. If you are suffering from torn cartilage, physical therapy can provide relief.
  • Tendonitis. Tendonitis occurs when a tendon becomes irritated or inflamed. It can appear in several parts of the body, and colloquial terms such as “tennis elbow,” “swimmer’s shoulder,” and “jumper’s knee” are usually used to describe it. A physical therapist can treat different types of tendonitis and relieve the inflamed area.
  • Arthritis. Arthritis is a painful and stiffening joint disease. There are various forms of arthritis, but osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are the most frequent. Osteoarthritis is a condition in which the cartilage between your bones breaks down, causing the bones to rub together. Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by swollen and inflamed joints. Physical therapy can help with pain alleviation and movement for both of these diseases.
  • Bursitis. Bursitis is a type of joint inflammation that affects the fluid-filled sacs that surround the bones, muscles, and tendons. It frequently happens in body parts that are subjected to repetitive activities. You may feel stiff or achy in the affected area, which may also become red or inflamed if you have bursitis. Physical therapy can help with the inflammation as well as the pain you’re experiencing.
  • Sprains and strains. When a ligament is strained or torn, it is called a sprain. When a muscle or tendon is stretched too far or torn, it is called a strain. Strains and sprains can cause persistent shoulder pain, making it difficult to exercise or perform regular duties. If the strain or sprain is minimal, it may be treated at home with ice and rest. Physical therapy is typically required for more serious strains and sprains.

How can a physical therapist help with shoulder pain?

Two of the biggest goals of physical therapy are 1) to alleviate your pain and 2) to improve your function. Your physical therapist will work with you to make sure that both of these are achieved throughout your physical therapy sessions.

Physical therapy for shoulder pain focuses primarily on giving you much needed pain relief using modalities, manual therapy, modalities, exercises, and at-home treatments. Your physical therapist’s ultimate goal is to restore mobility and range of motion to the affected shoulder.

He or she will design a treatment plan specifically for you, which will include targeted stretches and exercises. It may also include any additional methods or modalities that your physical therapist deems fit, including ice and heat therapies, manual therapy, ultrasound, aquatic therapy, or electrical nerve stimulation.

Get rid of your shoulder pain today!

There’s no reason you need to risk the harmful effects of over-the-counter medication or spend a ton of money on an expensive surgery to gain relief from shoulder pain. Call Dubuque Physical Therapy in Dubuque, IA today to learn more about the benefits of physical therapy for shoulder pain, and begin your journey toward living a pain-free life!

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Zoom-Through-Your-Recovery-With-Pre-Hab
Zoom Through Your Recovery With Pre-Hab!

Do you have a surgical operation scheduled soon? If so, you might be worried about recovery time. Do you have a physically demanding job or sport? You could be anxious about the effects of demanding activities on your joints and muscles. If you identify with any of these scenarios, preventative rehabilitation or “pre-hab” may benefit you.

Participating in pre-hab therapy has several advantages. It can help the body heal faster and avoid injuries, all while speeding up recovery time and reducing your odds of needing inpatient rehabilitation by 73 percent!

Pre-hab is divided into two categories: Pre-hab for injury prevention and pre-hab for surgical recovery. If you’ve got surgery on the books or you participate in a job or sport that is exceptionally hard on your body, look no further for help.

Contact Dubuque Physical Therapy in Dubuque, IA now to learn more about the numerous types of pre-hab and how it can help you!

Who can benefit the most from pre-hab?

Physical therapy treatments typically aim at mobility improvement and pain relief through strength and balance training. Pre-hab can help you improve your physical abilities in your sport or occupation while simultaneously reducing your risk of injury.

Pre-hab is an excellent resource for those prone to injuries or who are at risk of developing them. When you see a therapist for this kind of care, you’ll get a complete evaluation geared towards figuring out where your trouble areas are and what your treatment plan will entail. These plans are comprehensive and usually include a combination of exercises, stretches, and pain-relieving procedures that target the areas most likely to be injured.

Military personnel, for example, are more likely to suffer foot, knee, hip, and back problems as a result of the rigors of training and combat. People can avoid many of these injuries with pre-hab, which teaches good posture, core strengthening exercises, and lifting techniques to keep service members solid and healthy. Firefighters, manufacturing workers, and other personnel in physically demanding jobs are in the same boat!

Pre-hab therapies can help both professional and amateur athletes. Their treatment will focus on identifying and correcting faulty techniques through conditioning exercises. Their physical therapists will also pay closer attention to the portions of their bodies that are constantly pressured or overworked by their sport, assessing their risk of injury and devising a plan to mitigate that risk.

Recovering after surgery doesn’t have to take months!

When people learn they most likely need surgery to correct a health issue, their mind almost immediately goes to recovery time. Questions arise, some of the most common ones being: “How long am I going to have to take off work? What about my kids? Who is going to take care of the house? How could I ever schedule time out for recovery?” Faced with the knowledge of time spent in a rehabilitation hospital, many people delay joint replacement surgery out of fear for the long, difficult recovery ahead. 

Enter pre-hab! Pre-hab provides patients with the stretches, strengthening exercises, and pain-relieving techniques they need for a smooth and speedy recovery. Choosing preventative rehabilitation can help significantly reduce recovery time. If you are stronger before surgery, you will meet your physical milestones much quicker after surgery, decreasing your recovery time by days or even weeks!

Recover faster by scheduling a consultation today!

Do you want to start working on your preventative rehabilitation plan? If that’s the case, don’t wait to schedule your initial consultation.

We’ll find out the appropriate treatment for your unique needs so we can help you get back on your feet and achieve your physical objectives. To get started, give us a call today!

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Are You In Search of Safe
Are You In Search of Safe, Effective Pain Relief For Your Back and Neck Pain?

There are many reasons why one may develop back or neck pain. Back and neck pain may range from mild to severe, and you may experience accompanying symptoms.

Neck pain is most commonly caused by muscle strains, which can develop due to a cervical herniated disc, cervical degenerative disc disease, or cervical osteoarthritis. Anything that causes the spine’s anatomy to change can result in back pain, such as lumbar disc herniation, lumbar degenerative disc disease, sacroiliac joint dysfunction, or osteoarthritis!

Luckily, physical therapy can help relieve back and neck pain and help you get back to living your everyday, pain-free life. If you’re searching for pain relief from a chronic back or neck pain condition, give us a call today to schedule an appointment. We will help ease your symptoms and teach you how to manage your pain without using harmful medications.

Common causes of back pain

You don’t have to be lifting something heavy to sustain a back injury. Several factors can contribute to back pain.

The source of the pain comes from injury or irritation of the muscles, joints (including the intervertebral discs and facet joints), nerves or surrounding ligaments, and other soft tissue.

Some of the contributing factors are often associated with back pain are:

  • Improper posture or prolonged positions (i.e., prolonged sitting)
  • Spinal muscle and tissue damage (i.e., lifting strains or trauma from accidents)
  • Limited hip, spine, and pelvis mobility
  • Limited muscle flexibility
  • Spinal/pelvic muscle weaknesses (aka “core” weakness)
  • Poor abdominal, pelvic and back muscle coordination (i.e., compensations due to injury)

Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t seek treatment when back pain arises. They might assume nothing—except for medication and rest—can solve their back pain problem, and this simply is not the case!

Common causes of neck pain

Neck pain is most commonly caused by an injury to the tissues or bone structures in the neck; however, certain degenerative conditions can also lead to neck pain.

Some common conditions that give you a pain in your neck include:

  • Muscle strains –The muscles in your neck can become strained by overuse. Even something as simple as sitting at your desk all day with your neck craned toward the computer screen can lead to a strain on your neck muscles.
  • Illnesses – Certain diseases and ailments can result in neck pain, such as rheumatoid arthritis and meningitis.
  • Nerve compression – If you have a herniated disc in your neck or narrowing of the foramen (space where the nerves exit the spine), the nerves that branch out from your spinal cord can become compressed. In some cases, nerve pain can even extend from the neck all the way down to the hands and fingers — a condition known as “radiculopathy.”
  • Injuries – Whiplash is one of the most common injuries that result in neck pain, typically sustained by an automobile or high-impact sports collision. This is known as a “strain” injury, causing the head to whip back and forth rapidly, thus affecting the soft tissues in the back of the neck.

What should I do if I have back or neck pains?

If you’re experiencing back or neck pain, it is important to consult with your primary doctor right away. He or she will most likely perform a physical exam and may want to take some x-rays or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test.

With an MRI, your doctor will be able to see your soft tissues, ligaments, tendons, and blood vessels, which can provide evidence of where your back or neck pain is stemming from. Once this is determined, your doctor will suggest a course of treatment, which will likely include physical therapy.

Back pain and neck pain can lead to a loss of productivity, and it is a common cause of disability. Because of this, it is important to seek the assistance of a medical professional immediately if you are suffering from back or neck pain.

How will physical therapy help my back or neck pain?

Physical therapy is an effective treatment for both back and neck pain. The goals and expected outcomes of these treatments include:

  1. Decreased pain and stiffness. By using passive treatments such as manual therapy, your physical therapist will help alleviate pain in the affected area and accelerate the healing process.
  2. Prevention of further issues. By learning proper body mechanics, you can avoid future injuries and prevent pain from recurring.
  3. Increased range of motion. Your physical therapist will implement flexibility exercises into your treatment plan, which will help increase the range of motion in your back and neck.
  4. Improved strength. Your physical therapist will create a specific exercise plan for your particular needs, which will aid in the strengthening of muscles in the affected area.
  5. Improved quality of life. Physical therapy can help you return to your normal routine much quicker, allowing for an overall improvement in quality of life.

Treatment plans are comprised of both passive and active methods. Passive treatments work to relieve pain, inflammation, and stiffness, while active treatments work to improve strength, flexibility, and function.

Common passive treatments for pain include ice and heat therapies, manual therapy, electrical stimulation, and ultrasound. Active treatments include targeted stretches and exercises that your physical therapist will prescribe.

Contact us today for relief!

Are you living with back or neck pain? If so, say goodbye today with the help of physical therapy. Contact us today to confirm your appointment and get started on the first steps toward pain relief.

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