Physical Therapy for Shoulder Pain in New York City

For athletes, injuries happen all the time. Whether it is a minor or major injury, you will need help from professionals to recover properly and fully. Our team at H&D Physical Therapy can help you heal from your injury. One injury our team is familiar with treating is shoulder sprains. If you need physical therapy for shoulder pain in New York City, contact our team.

What is a Sprain?

A sprain is an injury to a ligament, which is the tough, fibrous band of tissue that connects bones at a joint. When an outside force (such as another person or the ground) pulls the end of your arm bone away from its socket, you suffer a shoulder sprain.

Identifying Strains

Physical therapy for shoulder pain in New York City

More often than not, this happens at the outside of the shoulder (the acromioclavicular joint), making it challenging to identify. The best way to tell whether you’ve suffered a sprain is by doing your best to remember how it happened; if you remember hearing a popping noise during the incident, there’s a good chance you experienced a sprain.

Shoulder sprains can range from mild to severe. Most cases fall into the former category, and the shoulder only needs a few days of rest and some painkillers before symptoms begin to fade away. Severe sprains may require surgery and even months until they’re fully healed.

For any sprain, outside of the shoulder or not, it’s important to consult your physician. While many shoulder sprains are minor injuries, others can be hazardous. There is a rare type of shoulder sprain called an anterior inferior glenohumeral ligament (AIGHL) injury that can cause damage to major blood vessels and nerves.

Some symptoms of a shoulder sprain are:

pain
bruising
inflammation
difficulty moving the shoulder
crunching feeling

Getting Treatment

If you’ve suffered a shoulder sprain, there are several ways to help heal the area. As with any injury, it’s essential to take care of your body and ease into physical activity as soon as pain allows. A severe sprain may require a period of rest, but even light exercises can help alleviate symptoms and speed along the healing process.

The most important thing is to make sure that the joint can move smoothly; if it’s not moving correctly, muscles around it will tighten and cause even more pain. For most cases of shoulder sprains, rest is essential for allowing time to heal. It’s also important not to overdo things, even if you feel pain-free again after a few days. It is easy to reinjury if you put too much strain on the joint too soon.