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Note: This blog is Part II of a 3-part series on shoulder pain; click here for Part I. Hi Friend, Allison and Andrew here again. Last week we talked about some different causes of shoulder pain and the importance of NOT always being too quick to blame the shoulder joint itself for the pain you experience there. Right now, we going to dig a little deeper into understanding the importance of detecting and treating the right CAUSE and not just the symptom. A common mistake we see here in the clinic is patients rushing to get a “quick fix” using MRIs, injections, and medications to “treat” the pain in the shoulder. Unfortunately, this can lead to the pain coming back as the symptoms may have merely been “masked” and the underlying causes are still untreated.It's not easy to know or be able to assess these connections in our bodies, but a skilled clinician with working knowledge of Applied Functional Science (AFS) can help you connect the dots to not only reduce your pain...but keep it away.When properly addressing the condition, you want to make sure that treatment is thorough enough so that you don't only get better...but also STAY better! Shoulder pain can certainly be due to impingement or strains in the rotator cuff or bursae, which would require specific treatment in the clinic to mobilize and reduce inflammation at that tissue. As the pain decreases, the key to successful treatment would be to improve nearby joints that were aiding in the dysfunction in the first place. Poor posture of the neck and upper back play a major roll in increasing abnormal stress at the shoulder. Limitations are often found with trunk rotation and extension (back tipping) which alter the bio-mechanics of movement at the shoulder joint. A shoulder not functioning in an optimal position can lead to overuse strains and pains as we are more active in the summertime. Now to answer the question in the title…does the shoulder bone connect to the hip bone!? Understanding functional movement and anatomy can help us to draw connections from two areas of the body far apart that influence each other. Let's say that someone has tight hip flexers (not uncommon) and difficulty extending their hip. This will influence the trunk's ability to tip backwards with any overhead activity or reaching, which can in turn cause excessive glenohumeral (shoulder) joint stress. Lack of hip motion can result in shoulder pain! Hope this helps! Allison and Andrew

Last time I told you about Bob...Remember him? He was the business owner who came in for Physical Therapy because his back pain stopped him from concentrating on his business. Bob's symptom of pain was relieved in just 3 visits and he decided he was "good to go." I wanted you to realize that just because your pain has gone under the radar that sometimes many of the same problems that REALLY CAUSED your problem to begin with are still lurking inside ready to, little by little, cause your “injury” and eventually your pain to come back again. It often takes just a few more visits to shore up a solid home program to help you address some of those underlying PROBABLE SUSPECTS that we find in our evaluations. Keep in mind, we can't always address or even find those causes initially until your pain is reduced enough. But if a patient like Bob feels so great with his pain lessened and then stops Physical Therapy before we can more fully address those PROBABLE SUSPECTS, then I'm afraid that someday down the road he's likely to have to see me again for the same thing. I think Bob was hoping he'd luck out in the future and that everything would stay all right. In a similar case, John stayed pain free for the first four weeks after he left. Then one day, as he was bending over to pick up a piece of paper, his luck ran out! You have heard this story from someone else I am sure, because it is something we hear a lot too. “I just bent down to pick up something small and insignificant and then BAM!” The good news is with some strengthening and some education, John and Bob won't need to rely on luck anymore. They would have the tools, skills, strength, and knowledge now to keep their backs symptom free! So the famous question, “Do you feel lucky today? Well, do ya?” should be saved for Clint Eastwood. Arm yourself with what you need to maintain your function and keep yourself pain free!