That burning pain in your shoulder is becoming a daily occurrence, and nothing you’ve tried has been able to get rid of the pain. If this is the situation you’re in, you should consider getting help from a physical therapist.
Shoulder pain is something that many U.S. adults have experienced in their lives, which isn’t surprising since medical research shows that up to 66.7% of people develop shoulder pain in their lifetime. There are many treatment options that physical therapists offer that you may not have tried for your shoulder pain. Often, your therapist will combine multiple therapy techniques in a treatment plan designed to reduce the burning pain in your shoulder.
Three physical therapy techniques used to treat burning pain in the shoulder
Physical therapists are experts at treating many musculoskeletal disorders, including issues that can cause burning pain in the shoulder. Some of the issues your therapist could pinpoint as the cause of your pain are bursitis, tendinitis or brachial neuritis.
Which therapy methods your therapist uses will depend on what’s causing your pain. Some of the therapy techniques that they may use include:
- Joint mobilization — Therapists use their hands to guide your shoulder through its normal range of motion (ROM) when performing joint mobilization. Tense shoulder muscles and other tissue tend to lead to more pain. Thus, improving shoulder ROM can often lead to significant pain reduction. One study reports that joint mobilization helped improve shoulder ROM by nearly 27 degrees on average.
- Soft tissue mobilization — This therapy method also involves therapists using their hands. In this case, their hands are used to apply pressure and friction to restricted soft tissue. Soft tissue mobilization is especially useful for breaking down knots in shoulder muscles. It can also help break up scar tissue in the shoulder. A study reveals that this technique helped reduce shoulder pain by 26.5 mm on the visual analogue scale.
- Dry needling — Your physical therapist can use dry needling to address myofascial trigger points that are beyond the reach of their hands. This technique is intended to cause the targeted soft tissue to twitch; this twitch can help realign the tissue fibers. Dry needling can help reduce shoulder pain. Medical researchers found that using this technique on shoulder muscle trigger points led to a nearly 24% decrease in pain a week after treatment.
Find help for the burning pain in your shoulder at Border Therapy Services
Fed up with feeling a burning pain in your shoulder every day? Our team at Border Therapy Services is ready and willing to help you address your pain. We offer free screenings that can help determine the source of your pain.
You’ll also find that our physical therapists excel at building personalized therapy plans designed to reduce pain. Even better, you can get help right from your home if you sign up for an at-home care or virtual therapy session with one of our therapists.
Contact us today for more information about our shoulder pain treatment options or to schedule an initial appointment.