The Shoulder Joint – What Can Go Wrong?

Shoulder joints are one of the most mobile joints in our body. They are responsible for all the movement that we do in our upper limbs. Hence, any restrictions in our shoulder joint can impede most of the movements in our arm.

The Shoulder Joint

The main joint is between our arm and our shoulder blade, and is reinforced by a cuff of muscles that we call Rotator Cuff muscles. There is also support provided by ligaments and the joint capsule. The joint is supported by movements in 2 other joints: between our collar bone and shoulder blade on the outer end, and our collar bone and sternum on the inner end.



All of these components move in a perfect harmony for us to be able to perform the movement in our arm. So, you can understand how any restriction in any one component can limit our movement to a significant extent!

Common Injuries

There are a few common injuries that can affect the shoulder joint. These include:



• Rotator cuff injuries

• Shoulder dislocations

• AC joint injuries

• Frozen shoulder

• Post fracture stiffness

• Muscle tears

• Ligamentous injuries

What Can a Physiotherapist Do?

 will provide you with a thorough assessment session to find out the exact cause/nature of your restriction. That will help the PT design a protocol that suits your condition and injury to help you rehabilitate.

A PT can use a variety of modalities to help with the tissue healing and reduction of pain, and also use techniques to improve your range of movement and strength of the muscles involved.

A few examples include:

• Therapeutic Ultrasound

• E.N.S unit

• Shockwave

• Therapeutic exercises like stretching, strengthening, etc.

• Joint mobilizations

A PT will also design a home exercise program to help you continue exercises when you are not seeing the PT at the clinic!

Overall, the main aim of Physiotherapy includes patient education in terms of their injury and treatment protocols to bring you back to your pre-injury levels as soon as possible!

So, if you have a shoulder pain that has been bothering you, don’t hesitate to 

 and get it looked at!

Footprint Health and Wellness Centre is a multi-disciplinary clinic located in South Barrie, offering chiropody, physiotherapy, and massage therapy services.