Featured Image Caption: Shoulder Injuries Treatments
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While shoulder injuries occur most often among athletes and other highly active individuals, they truly can affect anyone. You can sustain a shoulder injury even if you’re doing everyday activities such as hanging curtains, lifting the appliances, or pushing a heavy door.
Some of the most common shoulder injuries that you may encounter at some point in your life include:
Rotator Cuff Tears
If you repeatedly raise your arms above your head, like in the case of a baseball player pitching a ball, you’re at risk of sustaining a tear in your rotator cuff. A rotator cuff is basically a group of muscles and connective tissues that surrounds and protects your shoulder joint. It also functions to hold and keep the head of your upper arm bone in place so that it won’t slip off its shoulder socket.
However, this group of muscles and tendons can be torn with repeatedly performed overhead motions. Other sports activities that involve overhead motions are basketball, tennis, volleyball, shot put, and javelin throw. When you sustain a rotator cuff injury, you’ll feel a dull ache in the affected area that is often accompanied by arm weakness.
Rotator Cuff Tears Treatment
A rotator cuff tear injury can be easily treated by non-surgical treatment methods. Rest the affected shoulder and don’t partake in high impact sports or any activities that cause further strain on your shoulder.
To reduce the inflammation and pain, apply an ice pack to your shoulder. If the pain does not subside, take over-the-counter pain medications. In some instances, your doctor might recommend a steroid injection to decrease the inflammation as well as physical therapy. If the tear is too severe, surgery might be required.
Shoulder Dislocation
Your shoulder joint is considered to be your body’s most mobile joint. You can move your shoulder joint in multiple directions, however, being the body’s most mobile joint, it is also somewhat unstable. When your shoulder receives a heavy blow, you may experience a shoulder dislocation injury.
The top part of your upper arm bone can easily slip out of its socket especially when it receives a heavy force from contact sports, vehicular accident, and falls. As the injury happens, you may hear a popping sound followed by shoulder pain.
Shoulder Dislocation Treatment
Call for immediate medical help or take the patient to a nearby hospital. Usually, the pain will subside when the doctor pops your dislocated shoulder back into place. Your doctor will then send you home for continuity of care.
To recover fast from your shoulder dislocation injury, rest the injured shoulder for several days as advised. You can also wear a shoulder brace to ensure joint stabilization during recovery. Take over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen or naproxen to help alleviate the pain.
Shoulder injuries can be prevented by taking care of your shoulder. You should never miss warm-up and cool-down exercises before and after playing sports. Wearing shoulder gear and protective equipment can also help in mitigating the effect of shoulder injuries. To improve shoulder strength, perform exercises that target the shoulder muscles and incorporate protein-rich foods in your diet.
By Joe Fleming
who is the President at ViveHealth. Passionate about healthy lifestyles and living a full life, he enjoys sharing and expressing these interests through his writing. With a goal to inspire others and fight ageism, Joe writes to help people of all backgrounds and ages overcome life’s challenges. His work ranges from articles on wellness, holistic health and aging to social narratives, motivational pieces and news stories. For Joe, helping others is vital.
Member since December, 2017
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