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Shoulder Pain Shoulder pain is quite common in all adults after the age of thirty years. In shoulders which have taken a lot abuse from repetitive use or injury such in athletics, it can occur at an earlier age. As the shoulder is the most mobile joint in the body, it takes a lot of abuse and strain. Although direct injury to the shoulder certainly can cause chronic pain, joint dysfunction in the neck is a contributing factor in many cases. Several important muscles in the shoulder also connect to the neck. Irritation in the neck can cause these muscles to tighten and affect movement of the shoulder joint.
The relationship between the shoulder and the neck is more complex than simply that of some muscles attaching to both areas tightening and affecting the movement of both. The single most important muscle group responsible for smooth, pain-free movement of the shoulder is called the rotator cuff group. All of the muscles of the rotator cuff are run by a nerve which originates from the middle of the neck. In essence, proper movement of the shoulder is dependent upon normal nerve innervation or “signals” from the neck. Irritation of this nerve can disturb the function of the rotator cuff muscles allowing injury and strain to the shoulder.
Because of this relationship between the neck or cervical spine and the shoulder, chiropractic treatment has commonly been helpful to many suffering with shoulder pain. This treatment not only directly treats the shoulder pain but also works on the origin of the problem which is often poor joint movement in the neck. This is obvious in many who have not had relief of their shoulder pain even with injections of the shoulder for “bursitis” only to have their pain quickly resolve with chiropractic treatment. The management of shoulder pain is not complete until chiropractic treatment has been tried. It will often bring lasting relief for many people who have had repeated shoulder pain.
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