Shoulder pain is not necessarily frozen shoulder?

Although the incidence of frozen shoulder is very high among the elderly, many elderly people often think that they have frozen shoulder when they find that their shoulders hurt and their activities are restricted. They then start various exercises to treat frozen shoulder. As a result, they find that the effect after exercising is not particularly ideal. In fact, the elderly may suffer from rotator cuff injury, not necessarily frozen shoulder. Therefore, it is necessary to find out the cause and treat it symptomatically, and never treat it blindly.

Rotator cuff injury

Rotator cuff: Four muscles on the outside of the shoulder that wrap around the shoulder joint. They are named because they look like cuffs. The contraction of these four muscles can cause the shoulder joint to internally rotate, abduct, and externally rotate. When the rotator cuff tendon is injured due to various reasons, shoulder pain, weakness and limited movement will occur.

Causes of injury: Degeneration of the rotator cuff itself, overuse of the rotator cuff tissue due to special occupations (teachers, table tennis players, painters, etc.), usually holding on to bus handrails, etc. The main symptoms of frozen shoulder are pain, limited external rotation, and inability to comb hair; the main symptoms of rotator cuff injury are weakness in abduction and upward movement of the shoulder joint.

Exercises for rotator cuff injuries mainly focus on practicing external and internal rotation of the shoulder joint, and try to avoid overhead and over-the-shoulder movements to prevent further damage to the rotator cuff. Severe cases may even require surgical treatment.

Scientific treatment can quickly cure frozen shoulder:

1. Active exercise

Most cases of frozen shoulder begin with chronic pain, and many people think that the pain will get better after a rest. However, the less active they are, the stiffer their shoulders become.

Dr. Hu Xumin reminds that if it is real periarthritis of the shoulder, you have to move even if it hurts, because only exercise can tear apart the ligaments and soft tissues that are adhered to the shoulder joint little by little, preventing them from sticking more seriously and causing upper limb dysfunction. Regardless of the length of the disease or the severity of the symptoms, patients should perform active shoulder movements every day.

2. Other adjuvant treatments

In addition to active exercise, you can relieve pain through massage, acupuncture and other treatments during the illness; if necessary, you can take anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs to improve your quality of life.

Shoulder periarthritis is not difficult to treat. The key is to exercise step by step under the guidance of a doctor. If you exercise improperly or use too much force, it may cause new joint injuries.

Shoulder pain can do these simple exercises 1. Wall climbing exercise

Stand facing the wall, raise your hands and hold on to the wall, then slowly climb up the wall with your hands, trying to climb higher than the day before.

2. Shoulder rotation and massage

Sit down, place your left palm on your right shoulder, rotate your right shoulder 50-100 times, then switch hands.

3. Hold your head with both hands

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and place your hands with your fingers crossed behind your head; spread your elbows apart, parallel to your body; bring your elbows together as if clamping your head, and repeat the exercise.