Chiropractors tend to be quite skilled at treating and managing shoulder pain. The primary treatment your chiropractor will provide is typically a spinal adjustment to ensure your vertebrae are aligned. This will ensure one shoulder is not bearing more weight and strain than the other due to a misaligned back. After adjusting your spine, your chiropractor may proceed with one or more of these additional techniques and procedures.
Myofascial Release
The fascia is the thin connective tissue that covers your muscle. Often, it can get "stuck," which limits the range of motion of the muscle and causes pain. This is commonplace when your back has been misaligned and putting strain on your shoulder muscles for a while.
Your chiropractor can use a technique called myofascial release to get the fascia sliding over the muscle again. This will feel like a deep massage. Your chiropractor may place pressure and friction on one part of your shoulder while moving your arm or asking you to move your arm.
Ultrasound Therapy
Most people are familiar with the use of ultrasound in imaging, but sending ultrasonic vibrations through your body can be therapeutic, too. It helps increase blood flow to the area, which reduces swelling and encourages healing. This technique will be used if your chiropractor suspects you have a sprain or strain in your shoulder.
Ultrasound is performed with a small handheld device. You won't feel much while your chiropractor is administering the therapy, other than perhaps a little warmth or soothing sensation. In the hours that follow, though, you should find that your shoulder feels less sore.
Graston Technique
If you have a lot of scar tissue in your shoulder, that may be limiting your range of motion and causing you pain when you move in certain ways. The Graston Technique is a technique your chiropractor can use to break up that scar tissue.
Basically, they will use a firm scraping tool, which looks a bit like a spatula, to move back and forth cross-wise over your muscle fibers. This can be uncomfortable, but a few sessions can really help ease shoulder pain that is the result of an old injury or previous surgery.
If you are dealing with ongoing shoulder pain, see a chiropractor. While the majority of their work does center around spinal adjustments, they also tend to offer an array of other treatments that can reduce and eliminate shoulder pain.
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