Freedom from Shoulder Pain

While filling in for our very busy and very pregnant office manager, I answered a phone call from a gentleman in Prescott Valley, Arizona.  He is a part time resident of Jackson, Wyoming and was looking for some affordable and effective treatment for a couple of specific conditions.  He asked about all of the services offered at Teton Healing Arts, but during our conversation about massage therapy, he specifically wanted to know about post-operative rotator cuff massage.  Well, this post is for you, Mr. White, and to all of you suffering with any kind of shoulder pain.  This post is to inform you that you do not have to live with this pain forever!

I have personally seen over 100 clients specifically for shoulder pain.  I have treated people with frozen shoulder, dislocations, repeated dislocations, broken collar bone, rib, or arm, torn bicep, tricep or other muscles, torn rotator, post-operative shoulder surgery, post-operative lymph node and mastectomy surgery, and disk and spinal degeneration.  I have an excellent working knowledge of shoulder functions and kinesiology. 

Muscle specific sculpting combined with gentle, passive stretching will restore muscle function.  Myofacial release and other soft tissue manipulations will omprove range of motion and reduce pain.  Before long, you will be able to use your shoulder again...   Hooray!

Check out these studies I dug up about shoulder pain and post-operative pain management:

Nixon, M., Teschendorff, J., Finney, J., & Karnilowicz, W. (1997). Expanding the nursing repertoire: The effect of massage on post-operative pain. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 14, 21-26.

METHODS: A treatment group of 19 patients and a control group of 20 patients were compared on the impact of massage therapy on patients’ perceptions of post-operative pain. RESULTS: Controlling for age, the results indicated that massage produced a significant reduction in patients’ perceptions of pain over a 24 hour period.

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Van den Dolder, P.A., & Roberts, D.L. (2003). A trial into the effectiveness of soft tissue massage in the treatment of shoulder pain.  The Australian Journal of Physiotherapy, 49, 183-188.

METHODS: The purpose of this single blinded randomized controlled trial was to investigate the effects of soft tissue massage on range of motion, reported pain and reported function in patients with shoulder pain. Twenty-nine patients referred to physiotherapy for shoulder pain were randomly assigned to a treatment group that received six treatments of soft tissue massage around the shoulder (n = 15) or to a control group that received no treatment while on the waiting list for two weeks (n = 14). Measurements were taken both before and after the experimental period by a blinded assessor. Active range of motion was measured for flexion, abduction and hand-behind-back movements. Pain was assessed with the Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SFMPQ) and functional ability was assessed with the Patient Specific Functional Disability Measure (PSFDM). RESULTS: The treatment group showed significant improvements in range of motion compared with the control group for abduction, flexion and hand-behind-back. Massage reduced pain as reported on the descriptive section of the SFMPQ by a mean of 5 points and on the visual analogue scale by an average of 27 mm, and it improved reported function on the PSFDM by a mean of 9 points.

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