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The Manual Touch Physical Therapy

Whole Body Approach

Reclaim movement, function and life
For information, call: 847-541-7600
or email: info@themanualtouch.com
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9 Tips to Avoid Shoulder Pain

April 27, 2024 By Denise Schwartz 1 Comment

9 tips to avoid shoulder pain

Click here to download our PDF guide: 9 Tips for Shoulder Pain.

Betty had constant shoulder pain. Her shoulder hurt doing just about anything — opening doors, sleeping, putting on her seatbelt, and even while sitting in a movie theater. As Betty is 81 years old, she and her doctor did not want her to have surgery for her torn rotator cuff.

Betty came to therapy regularly for about four months. She received exercises and instructions on how to go about her life without aggravating her shoulder. At times during her therapy, we both thought she might need to have surgery. Thankfully, after 8 weeks of therapy she began to get progressively better until she became pain-free and was able to enjoy her life again. When I spoke to Betty a year after she left physical therapy, she was still doing great. Read Betty’s testimonial here.

After having shoulder pain for a year, Jodi, a 53 year old pediatric physical therapist, realized she could not get rid of her shoulder pain on her own. Sometimes even health professionals need an objective eye from another health professional to figure out what’s going on.

Being a pediatric physical therapist is a physically demanding job that can take its toll on your body. We assessed how Jodi used her body when working with kids and we found that Jodi was so good at stabilizing her core, keeping her body very rigid, that she was overusing her arms to assist her patients. I instructed her how to use her great core stability to her advantage in order to not overuse her arms. In addition, she was given exercises to integrate her body with her shoulder as well as manual therapy. Jodi is now back at work, doing yoga and weight lifting pain-free. Read Jodi’s testimonial here.

Shoulder pain can be quite debilitating as we use our arms all the time.

Shoulder-Anatomy

The primary shoulder joint is a connection between the shoulder blade (scapula) and arm bone (humerus) and can move in multiple directions, making it prone to injury as well as wear and tear.

The primary muscles that control shoulder movement is the rotator cuff, a group of 4 muscles that can easily be strained or torn. The upper back and core muscles act to stabilize your body so you can move your arm safely from a stable position.

Other common shoulder pain issues include:

  • Rotator cuff tear
  • Labrum tear
  • Dislocation or subluxing joint
  • Arthritis, degeneration, or spur
  • Frozen shoulder
  • Bursitis
  • Fracture of any of the bones

Things you can do to alleviate and avoid shoulder pain

Here are nine easy tips that will help you protect your shoulder from injury and prevent pain if you already have a shoulder issue.

1.  Pulling open a door – Hold your bent arm close to your body and step back instead of pulling with your arm

2. Pushing a door open – Hold your bent arms close to body, push door open stepping forward in order to use your body

3. Putting on a seatbelt – Hold your arms close to body, turn your body at your hips to reach for seatbelt, turn your body at your hips to the other direction, which will pull belt down towards buckle, push buckle in by bending at your hips to use your body to apply force through your arms.

4. Sleeping – Lay on whichever side doesn’t increase your pain, sleep with a pillow in front of you to hug with your arm.

5. Putting on a shirt or coat – Put the painful arm in the sleeve first.

6. Taking off a shirt or coat – Pull out pain-free arm first.

7. Reaching across a table – Rest arms on table, hinge at hips to reach with body and not through your shoulder.

8. Talking on the phone – Use a headset to avoid elbow, shoulder and neck pain.

9. Throughout your day – Avoid all movements that cause pain!

9 Tips For Shoulder PainClick here to download our PDF guide: 9 Tips for Shoulder Pain.

Want to take care of that shoulder pain so you can get back to doing the things you love to do? Give us a call at 847-541-7600 or email: info@themanualtouch.com.

Filed Under: Health & Wellness, Real Stories, Shoulder & Elbow Pain Tagged With: patient stories, shoulder pain

About Denise Schwartz

Denise Schwartz, PT, IMT, C is the owner of The Manual Touch Physical Therapy. For over 30 years, she has been helping patients reduce pain and improve quality of life using a whole body approach. Denise specializes in chronic pain, spinal conditions, running/triathlon injuries and prevention, balance/vestibular disorders, functional exercise, kinesiotaping, and various non-traditional and traditional & manual therapies. Contact Denise at denise@themanualtouch.com

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I saw Denise at The Manual Touch recently for sciatic pain, that only the day before I saw Denise kept me from walking; I could only hobble for short distances before I would sit down and collapse. After some tissue work and gentle exercise with Denise, she put Kinesiotape around the affected area. I immediately noticed stability and pain improvement and could walk so much better that I was able to complete shopping trips to 4 stores I had been planning but did not think I could do. To me, the t… Read more
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The best physical therapist I’ve ever experienced is Denise Schwartz in Wheeling at the Manual Touch. I have seen Denise twice for over 6 months to treat 2 bouts of frozen shoulder that occurred 8 years apart. In addition to my shoulder, she has also helped with my back, exercise regimen, and overall health. She is a holistic practitioner expert in PT techniques and knows how to teach her clients how to fit her techniques easily into their lives. She relates with her clients about as well as any… Read more
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As a young elite athlete I was involved in numerous accidents resulting in scar tissue causing loss of flexibility and restrictions as an adult. After each treatment I feel so much less restriction and experience greater range of motion.
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The physical therapy I received at The Manual Touch PT helped reduce my sciatica pain to a manageable level in just a few sessions.  The exercises I was given strengthened and trained my muscles to prevent further back problems allowing me to return to playing basketball.
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Just a note to thank you for the time you spent with me Saturday in evaluating my running technique and body alignment.  Your suggestions are already making sense and having an early impact.  After our meeting, I went out for a 5K run and found your suggestions “to shorten my stride” and “being conscious of not overlapping my steps” to be helpful. Thanks Denise  
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I can honestly say that Denise was the first physical therapist to listen to my story.   She has demonstrated more patience and compassion than any other therapist that I’ve ever met. For the past 8 years, I have been symptomatic with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a rare genetic condition which affects the connective tissue throughout my body. As a result of this disorder I deal with ongoing severe acute and chronic pain and a variety of other rare overlapping conditions such as thoracic outl… Read more
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We believe all body systems and mental/emotional health are connected. We take a whole body approach to discover why patients are not healing and what were the initial causes of their current symptoms. 

Our mission is to use this whole body approach to help patients heal and overcome pain and limitations, resulting in improved quality of life. We also aim to promote wellness in our communities through ongoing education. 
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Testimonials

I saw Denise at The Manual Touch recently for sciatic pain, that only the day before I saw Denise kept me from walking; I could only hobble for short distances before I would sit down and collapse. After some tissue work and gentle exercise with Deni… Read more
https://themanualtouch.com/wp/testimonial/m-d-evanston-il
I was in Florida for vacation and developed an upper respiratory infection. I had annoying coughing and congestion in my chest. This went on for several days, and it was not getting better. It felt like I had a mucous plug stuck in my chest that woul… Read more
https://themanualtouch.com/wp/testimonial/a-b-riverwoods
The best physical therapist I’ve ever experienced is Denise Schwartz in Wheeling at the Manual Touch. I have seen Denise twice for over 6 months to treat 2 bouts of frozen shoulder that occurred 8 years apart. In addition to my shoulder, she has also… Read more
https://themanualtouch.com/wp/testimonial/b-h-elmhurst-il
As a young elite athlete I was involved in numerous accidents resulting in scar tissue causing loss of flexibility and restrictions as an adult. After each treatment I feel so much less restriction and experience greater range of motion.
https://themanualtouch.com/wp/testimonial/s-northbrook-il
Last winter our daughter Maddie had had several eye and ear infections, and all required topical and oral antibiotics.  These were instigated by a plugged tear duct.  A pediatric ophthalmologist said there was little chance the duct would open up o… Read more
The physical therapy I received at The Manual Touch PT helped reduce my sciatica pain to a manageable level in just a few sessions.  The exercises I was given strengthened and trained my muscles to prevent further back problems allowing me to return… Read more
Just a note to thank you for the time you spent with me Saturday in evaluating my running technique and body alignment.  Your suggestions are already making sense and having an early impact.  After our meeting, I went out for a 5K run and found you… Read more
I have been receiving PT therapy for pain and autoimmune disorders for over 18 months at The Manual Touch.  This also affects my kidneys and my lungs and other organs as I swell with fluid that my lymph system doesn’t seem to handle well.  I depe… Read more
Excellent, professional assessment and treatment for an older woman who’s had lots of failed therapy. Kind and compassionate and caring! Thanks.
I can honestly say that Denise was the first physical therapist to listen to my story.   She has demonstrated more patience and compassion than any other therapist that I’ve ever met. For the past 8 years, I have been symptomatic with Ehlers Danlo… Read more
Read More

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