Shoulder pain is one of the most common reasons people come to physio. Our shoulders are hard-working joints! They are often affected when we use devices a lot, or work at a desk or behind a steering wheel.
Even though the shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint, the muscles around the joint provide most of the stability. Some of these muscles work together as a team and are known as the “rotator cuff”. Tears in the rotator cuff tendons are very common, even in people who don’t have any shoulder pain. This study found that tendon tears were more common in the people who didn’t have shoulder pain, than the people who did! This means that you can recover from shoulder pain even if you have tendon tears.
Because the shoulder is such a muscular joint, it usually responds well to strengthening exercises. Finding the right way to strengthen your shoulder can be a bit tricky, and is best done with guidance from a physiotherapist.
