As a practising chiropractor I see many patients who have arm and shoulder pain. Often their description of their problem is vague and does not accurately describe what is actually happening to them. Many patients have been ‘window shopping’ for doctors and may have already received a diagnosis; they become concerned when several doctors give differing diagnoses. Patients may not realise, however, that the reason for the different opinion is that each doctor perceived the problem to be a different one due to a vague picture of the symptoms.

Commonly, patients commence saying that they have pain in their shoulder which can affect their arm and hand. While this description is certainly true from their perspective, it only
begins to describe what is going on. There are several areas of the “shoulder” region which can either by themselves or in combination give rise to shoulder and related pain and restricted movement.

Often the patient finds that restricted breathing occurs and that a deep breath can cause a “catching” feeling to occur. This can be quite frightening, particularly if the cause is not clearly understood. I have found that there a number of separate areas which in themselves cause pain and which then combine to cause even greater problems for the patient.

1.Scapula (shoulder blade) fixation. This interferes with the muscles of accessory inspiration which are involved with breathing and can cause the “catching” referered to already.

2.Shoulder fixation. The shoulder refers to the head of the humerus i.e., the top of the arm
bone which forms a type of ball and socket joint with the end of the scapula. Unfortunately the socket part of the scapula is very shallow and does not make for a good joint. This can result in the shoulder being easily dislocated from a fall onto the outstretched arm.

When the shoulder becomes fixated and does not not move well, one can experience difficulty in performing even simple tasks such as combing one’s hair, reaching behind the back and even reaching forward to stir a pot on the stove.

Frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis) can occur which severely restricts the movement of the arm, resulting in an inability to raise the arm.

3.Shoulder muscles. These all- important muscles which are called rotator cuff muscles hold the head of the humerus in place. They are needed  as I have already said earlier,because the joint is weak and not well supported. These muscles can become overly tight and sometimes tear.

4.Collar bone (clavicle) fixation. The clavicle attaches to important muscles which, when restricted, cause pain in the front of the chest and in the front of the shoulder. A chiropractic evaluation , sometimes assisted by x rays or other imaging throws a lot of light on the problems.

The chiropractor will perform a range of medical tests which include orthopedic and neurological tests before commencing a course of treatment. If the patient has had the problem for some time, the treatment will involve perhaps twice weekly visits over several weeks.

The treatment will possibly involve gentle manipulation and soft tissue therapy, accompanied by a series of simple exercise that the patient can do at home. It can be very satisfying for the patient to be able to resume full time work and to be able to live a full and painfree life when these problems has been alleviated.