By Jack Redden, APA Physiotherapist

Have you been experiencing ongoing shoulder pain and discomfort with day to day activity?

Have you injured your shoulder playing a contact sport?

Below we are going to outline the most common shoulder injuries that may be causing your pain and discomfort.

Normal day to day activity

1. Shoulder impingement

2. Rotator Cuff injuries

These two injuries often have similar presentations however it is important to differentiate between the two. Symptoms often involve a sharp pinching pain in the outside of your shoulder with overhead or repetitive activities. Correct diagnosis is key to treating a shoulder as they often do not get better with rest and will become easily aggravated with increased activity. Early diagnosis will correctly identify the contributing factors that are causing your shoulder pain.

Once these factors are identified, our management plan will aim to settle the pain and maintain your current level of activity with a combination of manual therapy and progressive exercise prescription.

Here at the clinic we see a lot of these ongoing shoulder issues and we aim to improve pain levels and improve function at the initial consult. There should be noticeable improvements over a week and from there the condition will continue to progress while you gradually resume your normal activities. 

Contact injuries

AC joint 

AC joint injuries are common within contact sports and often involve falling onto the point of your shoulder.

Appropriate diagnosis is required in order to rule out any possible fractures or indication for surgery. Surgery, however is often not indicated for AC joint injuries and conservative management is preferred. This will initially involve activity modification and assisting to regain full mobility of the shoulder joint. Once this is achieved a graduated strength program will be assigned to get back to your pre injury level.

Shoulder instability

This condition is common within contact sports and often results from either a shoulder dislocation or subluxation. Again, conservative treatment is preferred where able and a structured rehab plan must be established in order to minimise pain, restore full movement and regain adequate strength to return to your chosen sport or activity. The strengthening program for this injury will mainly focus around the rotator cuff and upper back muscles which play a huge role in stabilising the shoulder joint.