A Baltimore Physical Therapist Explains When to Get Evaluated
Shoulder pain can make everyday activities – reaching overhead, putting on a shirt, sleeping, or lifting a coffee mug – surprisingly difficult. While some shoulder pain improves with time, persistent or worsening symptoms may be a sign that you would benefit from a physical therapy evaluation.
If you’re wondering, “Do I need physical therapy for shoulder pain?” the answer depends on the cause of your pain, how long you’ve had symptoms, and how much your shoulder pain is affecting your daily life.
At New Moon Physiotherapy, I help people in Baltimore better understand the source of their movement-related pain and develop individualized treatment plans designed around their goals.
When Should You See a Physical Therapist for Shoulder Pain?
You may want to consider a physical therapy evaluation if your shoulder pain:
- Has lasted more than a few days or weeks without improving
- Makes it difficult to reach overhead or behind your back
- Limits your ability to work, exercise, or participate in sports
- Interferes with sleep
- Is accompanied by stiffness or reduced range of motion
- Keeps coming back after temporarily improving
- Started after lifting, exercising, playing sports, or another injury
- Is gradually getting worse rather than better
You don’t necessarily need to wait until shoulder pain becomes severe. An early evaluation can help identify contributing factors and address problems before they become more limiting.
What Can Physical Therapy Help With?
Physical therapy can be useful for many common causes of shoulder pain. Expert Dry Needling can be a game changer for many diagnoses, including:
Rotator Cuff Problems
Rotator cuff-related shoulder pain can occur with repetitive overhead activity, sports, work demands, or age-related changes.
Shoulder Impingement or Subacromial Pain
Pain with reaching overhead or lifting can sometimes be related to how the shoulder and surrounding muscles move and tolerate load.
Shoulder Injuries
Are you a CrossFitter reading this? A DN1 or social baseball player? Did you recently hurt your shoulder pulling weeds? Shoulder pain after a fall, lifting injury, sports injury, or other trauma may benefit from an evaluation.
What Happens During a Shoulder Physical Therapy Evaluation?
At New Moon Physiotherapy, your evaluation begins with a conversation about your symptoms, how they started, what makes them better or worse, and how they affect your daily activities.
Your physical therapist may assess:
- Shoulder range of motion
- Strength
- Joint and soft-tissue mobility
- Posture and movement patterns
- Neck and upper-back movement
- Functional movements such as reaching or lifting
- Your ability to perform activities that are important to you
The goal isn’t simply to identify where it hurts. Did you know that there are 13 muscles that refer to the area in between your shoulder blades?
At New Moon Physiotherapy, I pride myself in diving deep to the root of your issues, not just the area that hurts.
What Does Physical Therapy for Shoulder Pain Involve?
Your treatment at New Moon Physiotherapy depends on your evaluation results, and your goals. It may include:
- Dry Needling: Dry needling is a focused, targeted treatment that gets to places that massage and foam rollers can’t reach. I am a recognized expert in dry needling and teach this technique throughout the country.
- Targeted therapeutic exercise: Exercises can help improve shoulder strength, mobility, endurance, and control. These should be tailored to your particular injury, not a cookie-cutter recommendation.
- Manual therapy: Hands-on myofascial techniques may be used when appropriate to address mobility restrictions or help with symptoms.
- IASTM: This incredible fascial tool can help restore normal movement patterns and blood flow. Paired with expert dry needling, IASTM can produce incredible results.
- Progressive loading: Gradually increasing demands and weight bearing through your shoulder so that you can return to work, exercise, and play sports without a hitch.
At New Moon Physiotherapy, the goal isn’t simply to make your shoulder feel better temporarily. Treatment is designed to help you move better, build capacity, and return to the activities that matter to you.
When Is Shoulder Pain an Emergency?
Most shoulder pain does not require emergency care. However, some symptoms can indicate a more serious medical problem.
Seek prompt medical attention for severe shoulder pain following significant trauma, an obvious deformity, sudden inability to move the arm, or symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, or pain that may be related to the heart.
If you’re unsure whether your symptoms are appropriate for physical therapy, contact a qualified healthcare professional for guidance.
How Long Does Physical Therapy Take for Shoulder Pain?
There isn’t one timeline that applies to everyone.
Recovery depends on factors such as:
- The underlying cause of your shoulder pain
- How long you’ve had symptoms
- The severity of your limitations
- Your strength and mobility
- Previous injuries or surgeries
- Your daily activity and work demands
- How consistently you participate in your rehabilitation program
After dry needling, most people notice meaningful improvement after the first visit. Although more persistent or complicated shoulder problems require a longer rehabilitation process, most patients at New Moon Physiotherapy only need to attend once per week.
Should You See a Physical Therapist for Shoulder Pain?
If shoulder pain is limiting your daily activities, interfering with sleep, affecting your workouts, or simply isn’t getting better, a physical therapy evaluation may be a good next step.
You don’t have to wait until your shoulder pain becomes severe. An evaluation can help you understand what’s going on, determine whether physical therapy is appropriate, and develop a plan for getting back to the activities you enjoy.
If you’re in Baltimore and dealing with new or persistent shoulder pain, New Moon Physiotherapy offers individualized physical therapy focused on your needs, goals, and recovery. Sessions are one-on-one, for an hour.
Ready to shrug off that shoulder pain?
Stop accepting pain as a way of life. Physical Therapy, especially dry needling, is one of the fastest ways to reset your nervous system and get your muscles firing correctly again. Every week I hear “I’ve had this pain for years, I can’t believe it took me so long to do this!”
Contact me, Dr. Noelle Schlegel, at New Moon Physiotherapy in Baltimore today, and let’s get you feeling better, faster.
