Shoulder pain and dysfunction is one of the most common things we treat – partly because it is so common, and partly because of our outcomes.
“I had two shoulder surgeries in 2012, my right one in June and left one in July. My physical therapists helped, but my shoulders were still hurting. If they couldn’t relieve my pain, how would a chiropractor do better? I thought it would be a waste. It turns out that I was in for a surprise. My pain finally propelled me to see Dr. Conrad Stalheim. His evaluation of me was amazing. I thought I already knew my shoulder problems, but it turns out I didn’t know all of the aspects. His knowledge, commitment, and passion impressed me right away. If you have pain, I would recommend seeing Dr. Stalheim as soon as you can. He quickly alleviated my pain. Opening a door doesn’t hurt my shoulders anymore, and neither does lifting a 160-lb-barbell over my head. That’s the best feeling ever!”
-Jordan W.
Our approach to shoulder pain looks at the shoulder and surrounding functions of other structures that affect the function and use of your shoulder. Your shoulder is intimately tied to the function of your neck, thoracic spine, scapula, and core musculature.
Manual therapy to the joints and tissues of your shoulder and surrounding areas is very helpful for shoulder pain. But it’s also very important to assess how you use your shoulder and make sure that you understand how the shoulder is biomechanically designed to be used.
We address the function of your shoulder in common movement patterns such as reaching, pushing, and lifting as well as higher demand functions such as lifting weights and exercising – things like pressing, pushups, Olympic lifts, etc.
Chiropractors have been getting “lucky” helping people with shoulder pain by adjusting the thoracic spine for a long time. Sometimes that’s enough – often though, it’s not – especially if you demand a lot of your shoulders.