Shoulder pain and injuries can make the everyday movements you typically take for granted surprisingly difficult.
Reaching overhead, putting on a shirt, throwing a ball, swinging a racket, even sleeping on your side can become uncomfortable when irritation affects the muscles, tendons, or other structures around the shoulder joint.
For athletes and active adults, shoulder pain can be especially frustrating. You may want to keep training, but continuing to stress an injured shoulder can make recovery harder and cause chronic pain, longer healing times, and even necessitate injections or surgery.
Shockwave therapy for shoulder injuries has become a proven resource that can support recovery and help patients return to the activities and routines they enjoy.
If you have shoulder pain and are curious whether noninvasive shockwave treatment is right for you, read on.
Understanding Common Shoulder Injuries
The shoulder is an impressive, highly mobile joint. That mobility lets you do many daily functions, such as reaching, rotating, throwing, pressing, pulling, and countless other movements. However, to work properly, the shoulder relies on muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other tissues to provide stability.
That’s a lot of moving parts in a pretty small area. When one of those parts is compromised, shoulder integrity wanes as compensatory patterns and overuse lead to pain and dysfunction.
Shoulder pain can come from a number of different problems, including:
- Rotator cuff tendinopathy: Irritation or degeneration involving one or more of the tendons that help stabilize and move the shoulder.
- Rotator cuff tears: Partial or complete tears involving the rotator cuff tendons. These can develop gradually or occur following an acute or sudden injury.
- Tendinitis: Inflammation or irritation affecting a shoulder tendon.
- Shoulder impingement: Pain associated with structures in the shoulder being compressed during certain movements.
- Biceps tendinopathy: Irritation involving the tendon of the long head of the biceps, which runs through the shoulder joint.
- Overuse injuries: Repetitive overhead activities can place substantial stress on shoulder tissues.
- Sports-related shoulder injuries: Consistent throwing, lifting, falling, contact, and repetitive training can all contribute to shoulder problems.
- Labral tears: A tear in the ring of cartilage that helps stabilize the shoulder joint.
- Bursitis: Inflammation of a fluid-filled sac called a bursa that cushions and reduces friction around the shoulder.
- Impingement syndrome: A condition in which shoulder tendons or surrounding tissues become irritated or compressed during movement.
- Frozen shoulder: A painful condition that causes stiffness and progressively limits the shoulder’s range of motion.
- Arthritis: Wear, inflammation, or damage within the shoulder joint that can cause pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility.
- Calcific tendinitis: A condition in which calcium deposits build up in a shoulder tendon, often causing significant pain and restricted movement.
Because these conditions can feel similar, simply identifying the location of your pain doesn’t necessarily tell you what’s causing it.
A chiropractic evaluation is a key step before deciding whether shockwave therapy will help you get pain-free and moving properly again.
What Is Shockwave Therapy?
Extracorporeal shockwave therapy, commonly called ESWT, shockwave therapy, and acoustic wave therapy, uses acoustic pressure waves to deliver mechanical energy to targeted tissues.
Despite the name, therapeutic shockwaves are not electrical shocks. A specialized device delivers controlled waves into a specific area. The treatment is designed to stimulate a biological response in the targeted tissue.
Shockwave therapy has been studied for several musculoskeletal conditions, with particularly strong evidence in certain tendon disorders.
Other conditions that shockwave therapy has successfully treated include:
- Rotator cuff tendinopathy
- Calcific tendinitis
- Subacromial impingement syndrome
- Bursitis
- Frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis)
- Certain chronic shoulder tendon injuries
How Does Shockwave Therapy Work on the Shoulder?
During treatment, the shockwave applicator is positioned over the area being addressed. Your local sports chiropractor uses the appropriate settings and treatment location based on the patient and the condition being treated.
The mechanical energy delivered by the waves may help stimulate rehabilitative processes involved in tissue remodeling and healing.
Research has shown that shockwave therapy can improve both pain and shoulder function across a range of shoulder conditions. In addition to relieving pain, the treatment can encourage the body’s natural healing process, allowing for a safer recovery without the need for more medication or aggressive procedures.
Other benefits of shockwave therapy include:
- Increased blood flow
- Improved collagen production
- Stem cell migration
- Renewed healing process for chronic dysfunctions
What Does a Shoulder Shockwave Treatment Feel Like?
Shockwave therapy is noninvasive, but you may feel the pressure waves during treatment.
Some areas can be more sensitive than others, especially when the tissue is already irritated; however, most patients say the treatment is painless, and some find it soothing.
Your provider can adjust treatment intensity and settings based on your condition and tolerance, and they will alternate device tips for a customized experience. The treatment itself is generally brief, although the exact duration and number of sessions depend on the problem being addressed.
You may notice some soreness or sensitivity afterward, but most patients feel immediate relief. Your provider can explain what to expect and whether you should modify your activities following treatment.
Shockwave Therapy for Athletes
Shoulder injuries can be especially disruptive for athletes whose sports depend on repetitive arm movement.
Baseball pitchers and other throwing athletes place significant, sometimes unrealistic demands on the shoulder. Volleyball players repeatedly serve and spike. Swimmers perform thousands of shoulder movements over the course of training. Weightlifters and strength athletes may experience problems with pressing, pulling, or overhead movements.
For an athlete, the objective should be more than getting through the next practice. Recovery should also consider how the shoulder functions during the movements required by the sport. This is the most responsible way to view the issue, as pushing through pain can harm your body and your longevity in your sport.
Shockwave therapy is often combined with exercise to help accelerate recovery, and it may also be paired with other safe, natural chiropractic solutions to achieve optimal results.
What Other Chiropractic Treatments Can Reduce Shoulder Pain?
At MN Spine and Sport, we offer several chiropractic solutions that may be incorporated into care for shoulder injuries and other musculoskeletal problems.
Our noninvasive and comprehensive chiropractic services include:
- Chiropractic care
- Cupping
- Graston Technique
- Acupuncture and dry needling
- Shockwave therapy
- Class IV Diowave laser therapy
- Kinesio taping
- PEMF therapy (Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy)
- Normatec compression
- Spinal decompression and traction
- Exercise guidance
- Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA)
- Patient education
- Sports physicals
- DOT and FAA physical exams
Different treatments address different aspects of an injury. For example, an athlete may benefit from a combination of targeted treatment and exercises designed to improve strength, mobility, control, and tolerance for activity.
Your plan can be adjusted as your condition changes. What you need during the painful early stages of an injury may not be the same approach you need when you’re preparing to return to full training.
When Should You Have Shoulder Pain Evaluated?
Not every sore shoulder requires professional care. However, persistent or worsening pain deserves attention, especially if it interferes with sleep, work, exercise, or daily activities.
You should consider an evaluation if you have:
- Shoulder pain that does not improve with rest
- Pain when reaching overhead
- Difficulty lifting your arm
- Pain during throwing or other repetitive movements
- Weakness in the shoulder or arm
- Persistent nighttime shoulder pain
- Reduced range of motion
- Recurring pain during workouts or sports
- Pain following a fall, collision, or other injury
An exam will help determine whether you have a tendon problem, muscle injury, joint issue, or another source of pain, and whether shockwave therapy would be a good option for you.
Get Shockwave Therapy for Your Shoulder at MN Spine and Sport
Shoulder pain doesn’t automatically mean you need to stop everything you enjoy. At the same time, pushing through an unresolved injury is usually not the best strategy.
At our Woodbury chiropractic clinic, we can evaluate your shoulder, discuss what may be contributing to your symptoms, and explain the treatment options that fit your situation.
Shockwave therapy may be a valuable tool for certain shoulder conditions, but the right treatment depends on the individual injury. Our team has found that shockwave therapy and a uniquely designed exercise program are an efficient, effective way to restore full shoulder function. This duo often speeds results and reduces the number of sessions needed.
Whether you’re an athlete working toward a return to competition, an active adult who wants to reach overhead without pain, recovering from an auto accident, or dealing with lingering pain from a chronic injury, our goal is to help you understand what’s happening in your shoulder and develop a practical path toward recovery. We’ll provide in-clinic services and guided support you can use in everyday life.
If you want to return safely to your routine, schedule an appointment today! Comfort is closer than you think!
