East Gwillimbury Physiotherapy is here to support and prevent individual injury or injuries and to keep you doing sports, activities and exercises that you love. The Town of Newmarket and East Gwillimbury are unrelentingly supporting activity in their communities. As Physiotherapists we are very enthusiastic about exercise sport and activities. And in such sporting activities in our beloved communities with our team mates we can sustain sport injury. Physiotherapists are here to help.
One very common area for pain and injury is the shoulder joint. This is because as healthy active beings, this amazing joint, that can undergo a lot of load, can also be victim to pain if overstressed with poor biomechanics over time (repetitive stress) or a one time high load (traumatic injury).
Baseball, Tennis, racquet sports, and swimming are all sports that may lead to a repetitive strain injury, most commonly, of the shoulder.
A lot of problems occur if there is a year round stress on the joint without rest. This is especially important in youth ages 9 – 14 as competitive training at these ages without proper rest and preventative management can lead to an upset of their dreams for future play of their sport secondary to debilitating injury. However, rest is important at any age.
Physiotherapist assessment, even before pain, can help assess muscle strength and flexibility issues, joint stiffness and mobility issues and to incorporate an appropriate training or rehabilitation program for each individual. The physiotherapist is happy to work along side the coach and or trainer to discuss and adjust any technique issues that may be contributing to a current or future injury.
Even though each athlete may be playing the same sport, each individual has a unique set of strengths and weaknesses in their alignment in which a Physiotherapist is an expert at revealing to them to enhance their performance.
Shoulder pain and injury is one of the more complex injuries to rehabilitate in Physiotherapy. Although most people have experienced shoulder pain such and/or most often a rotator cuff injury being involved with altered biomechanics causing impingement and tendonitis, and will often offer each other advice; each individual will have a different clinical picture and therefore, it is important to consult with a Physiotherapist to discuss your unique history. When a Physiotherapist performs a shoulder pain assessment there are a number of components to consider in treating, including the individual’s unique activities, responsibilities, habits, hobbies and occupation.
The shoulder girdle consists of the following joints:
- Scapulothoracic interface – the shoulder blade is somewhat free floating on the thorax or rib cage. It is held in place primarily by the scapular muscles but also by its attachment to the clavicle or collar bone.
- Acromioclavicular joint – which is the joint that joins the acromion (on the tip of the shoulder blade) to the clavicle bone (collar bone).
- Sternoclavicular joint – which is the joint that joins the sternum to the clavicle.
- Glenohumeral joint – which is the joint that joins the arm bone to the shoulder blade.
Each joint has associated capsule, cartilage, muscles, ligaments and neurological inputs to maintain the appropriate stability for the normal function of the shoulder blade.
The shoulder blade and, separately, the shoulder joint itself has three planes of motion available to them. In rehabilitation it is important for the Physiotherapist to stabilise the shoulder blade movement and position to ensure optimal joint position for the arm bone and then further ensure that the arm bone is centred and compressed into the glenohumeral joint.
Check out this video to explain a little bit about shoulder blade mechanics and the starting point of any rehab program for the shoulder.
If you had time to watch those videos, I would like to reiterate the importance of a Physiotherapy assessment to help you along with your shoulder rehabilitation and prevention of further injury. This video showed an example of one aspect of a complex shoulder blade mechanic on one individual. Thoracic mobility and the position of the arm bone in the capsule, the range of motion of the capsule itself, and the neurological input to the joint are only a few of the other aspects a Physiotherapist considers in fully rehabilitating shoulder pain and injury.
East Gwillimbury Physiotherapy is here to provide Physiotherapy and rehabilitation services to East Gwillimbury, Newmarket, Bradford, Aurora and the greater York/Simcoe Region.
