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Causes of Shoulder Pain and its Treatments

Causes of Shoulder Pain and its Treatments

The shoulder is that part of your body which is used the maximum and mobility has a heavy price. The shoulder is a combination of three main bones namely the upper arm bone, the collarbone, and the shoulder blade. This part of your body is vital for you to move freely. Shoulder pain is common for people above the age of 60 years as the tissues surrounding the shoulder become weak. There are several reasons for shoulder pain.

Poor posture
Poor posture is one of the common cause of shoulder pain and this is mainly because there is a specific shape of your shoulder that helps it perform the motion functions efficiently. Inappropriate posture causes the shoulder to strain to work resulting in a pull in the muscle leading to severe shoulder pain. Another reason can also be our over-demanding lifestyle that might urge us to sit in a posture that causes shoulder pain. One example to this can be sitting in front of computers for long hours.

Frozen shoulder
Frozen shoulder is a situation where your upper arm bone does not have enough space to function freely. This causes swelling and thickening of shoulder resulting in severe pain. Frozen shoulder makes it difficult for you to manage your everyday tasks such as driving, lifting your hands etc. If unattended, this can lead to lack of shoulder movement altogether.

Shoulder instability
Shoulder instability can be caused either by too much movement of the shoulder or by the inappropriate position of the shoulder for a long duration. This results in numbness or catchy feeling around the shoulder area making it impossible to move freely. There are two types of shoulder instability: traumatic that is sudden instability of the shoulder due to large impacts such as accidents and a traumatic that is over the period instability of the shoulder.

Tears
Tears is another cause of shoulder pain. The muscle tears or pull around the shoulder area gives a popping feeling to you. This is common in people aged above 40 years as their muscles tend to weaken with age. With younger children tear of muscles generally is due to accidents or injury while performing certain activities. It is easy to diagnose shoulder pain as there will be a continuous discomfort while performing regular activities. Even if you doubt the pain, there are scans and physical examinations performed by the doctor to help you understand your pain, what might be the reason causing it and how severe it is. Shoulder pain relief has severe treatments to it depending on the causes.

Avoiding activities that induce pain
The basic self-treatment for shoulder pain relief is to avoid activities that cause pain. For example, lifting your hand a little too much gives you a shoulder ache due to whatever reason then that should be avoided. Overstretching should be avoided if it leads to shoulder discomfort.

Ice packs
If the shoulder pain is caused by injuries or accidents then rubbing of an ice pack for 10-30 minutes will reduce the pain. This is because ice reduces the pain and inflammation if wrapped in a towel and applied to the affected area. Ice packs are helpful in curing pain in many parts of the body. They act like instant pain relievers.

Painkillers
Painkillers are known to give instant shoulder pain relief. You should read the dosage instructions and also ensure that the painkillers suit your body type before taking it. However, painkillers are only advised when the shoulder pain is unbearable. They might have other side effects and you are recommended to take into consideration various other factors.

Gout medications
At times shoulder pain may be because of increase in uric acid that causes pain and inflammation in the body. One such cause for shoulder pain is an increase in the level of uric acid. Gout medications are designed specially to cure the increased level of uric acid and prevent sudden attacks. Increase in the acid may be for any biological reasons, food ingredients intake that did not suit you or any changes in lifestyle. However, gout medicines are best recommended for shoulder pain relief when the pain in shoulders is due to uric acid levels.

Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy is a gentle exercise performed in the affected areas to restore the movement of your shoulder. It is a way in which further injuries can also be avoided. Though this is not an instant pain reliever but a definite treatment to reduce pain in due course of time and is given on a regular basis.

Shoulder pain is common in people nowadays due to their ages and demanding lifestyle. You can prevent it at the earlier stages of discomfort in order to avoid severe pain. However, shoulder replacement or surgeries are only recommended if the shoulder is severely damaged by an accident or severe shoulder injury. All in all, the shoulder is the most used part of the body which needs maximum attention.