Stop It Before It Starts:

Simple Tips to Prevent Shoulder Pain

If you’ve ever suffered a shoulder injury, then you know how debilitating it can be. Not only are you experiencing persistent pain, but most shoulder injuries also restrict the range of motion in the joint, making day-to-day tasks — from grabbing a cup off the high shelf to brushing your hair — feel nearly impossible.

At Rebound Physical Therapy, our team of physical therapists will work with you to identify and resolve the underlying causes of your shoulder pain. We offer acute pain relief and can guide you through complete shoulder rehabilitation regardless of whether or not you require surgery, and often, you can resolve a shoulder injury with physical therapy alone!

But that process can take a while, and we want to help you avoid shoulder injuries, too. While we do incorporate injury prevention information into our rehab programs, it’s never a bad time to start incorporating small changes into your routine that can help prevent shoulder pain.

If you’d like to learn more about how we help prevent and alleviate shoulder pain, call us to schedule an appointment today!

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What Causes Shoulder Pain and Injury, Anyway? 

Your shoulder is an incredibly complex ball-and-socket joint with several moving parts, including:

  • Three separate bones: the humerus (arm bone), scapula (shoulder blade), and clavicle (collarbone)

  • Cartilage that wraps and protects these bones from rubbing against each other

  • The three main ligaments that connect your shoulder’s bones

  • A collection of muscles and tendons known as the rotator cuff that wrap and support the shoulder joint

  • Bursae: small fluid-filled sacs that protect your tendons

Damaging any of these structures can lead to shoulder pain, weakness, and immobility. Some people injure their shoulders through sudden, acute injuries, especially if they’re active — a hard fall on the football field could tear their rotator cuff or dislocate the arm bone out of their shoulder socket.

However, many shoulder injuries are actually overuse injuries, meaning the pain and immobility symptoms occur due to repeated micro-injuries in your shoulder’s tissue. Often, sports-related shoulder injuries are actually due to overuse, as repeated overhead motions (such as throwing a ball or certain swimming strokes) put stress on the shoulder joint, leading to symptoms.

Using improper form can also contribute to overuse injuries, such as improper posture — a weak upper back strains your shoulder muscles, making them do more work than needed. 

Preventing shoulder pain is really about preventing these overuse injuries. By making small changes, you can keep your shoulders strong, healthy, and pain-free!

5 Ways You Can Help Prevent Shoulder Pain

  1. Strengthen your upper body: Strong upper back and shoulder muscles are better able to provide the shoulder joint with the support and stability it needs, meaning you’ll be less likely to suffer an injury. Not sure how to get started? Our PTs can walk you through some appropriate exercises.
  2. Keep your mobility: We can show you simple range of motion exercises that will get the blood flowing to your joints, keeping them healthy. Reaching overhead, across your body, or behind your back are all basic stretches that can do wonders — just make sure you never force a movement! 
  3. Don’t forget to warm up first: Many popular recreational activities put you at risk for a shoulder injury, including swimming, pickleball, and tennis. It’s crucial that you warm up your shoulder before you dive in. Try some quick cardio paired with active shoulder stretches (like arm circles).
  4. Maintain proper posture: Proper posture isn’t about standing up straight all the time; it’s about maintaining postural awareness and keeping your spine in alignment no matter what you’re doing. And if you have a sedentary job, move around regularly. Both habits will help keep your upper back and shoulders strong.
  5. Pay attention to ergonomics: If your workspace isn’t shoulder-friendly, you might wind up with an overuse injury. Simple changes — like adjusting the height of your computer monitor or maintaining good posture when using hand tools — will reduce repetitive stress and lower your chances of developing shoulder pain.

Exercise of the Month:

Bent Over Rows

  1. Hold a weight in your hand.
  2. Slightly bend your knees and bend at your waist to bring your torso forward.
  3. Make sure your back remains flat and about parallel to the floor.
  4. Pull the weight towards you.
  5. Make sure your elbows stay close to your body.
  6. Slowly return to the starting position.

3 Sets, 10 Reps. (Materials needed: dumbbells)

Patient Success

“I can’t say enough great things about Rebound! Great location in Meridian, really nice building, relaxed atmosphere, and FANTASTIC therapist Steve Yuly! If you need a great and caring therapist, Steve is just the experienced guy to help you or someone you might know who has a need. I highly recommend Rebound Physical Therapy for sports injuries, post surgical rehab, or general/age-related aches and pains. I can guarantee that you won’t be disappointed!” – J.G.

Service Spotlight: Ergonomic Training

Ergonomic training is the study and practice of improving the way people move and function within their daily life. Emphasis is placed on maximizing efficiency and safety through the use of certain tools or body mechanic strategies, and identifying how certain factors may be contributing to injury. The term ergonomics comes from the Greek language and roughly translates to “fitting a job to the person.”

Physical therapists are trained in ergonomics teaching as a means to help people with injury prevention and resolution. Both the tools used in your home or workplace (everything from your chair to your car to your computer to industry-specific machinery), as well as the way you use these tools are subject to study and modification. Our physical therapist can determine if these tools and your workplace requirements or home responsibilities are physically suited to you, and if not, what can be done about it.

Ergonomic Training Boise and Meridian, ID

Need A Little Help? We’ve Got You

The Rebound Physical Therapy physical therapists can help you prevent shoulder injuries as easily as we can treat them! Whether you’re looking for a shoulder stretch and strengthen routine, postural corrections, or some simple ergonomic adjustments, we’re here for you. Call us today to get started!

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Holiday Cheer, Community Love, and a Little Bit of Fun

Our annual Christmas party went off with our usual fun, laughter and various shenanigans.  And as usual, we took the opportunity as a group to make an effort to serve our community.  Partnering with our sister clinic Eagle Physical Therapy, we split up into teams and canvassed different areas of Boise distributing gift cards, hats, gloves and random other gifts to strangers in hopes of providing little blessings to random people in our community!

Ergonomic Tips for Good Shoulder Health

Ergonomics is a field of study focused on optimizing the environments in which people work, ensuring a safe, happy, and productive workplace.

Whether you work in an office or at a construction site, your job might contribute to your shoulder pain. Simple ergonomic adjustments can help minimize your risk of a shoulder injury. At Rebound Physical Therapy, our team evaluates not just your shoulder joint but the entire movement system, including your spine. Our certified McKenzie therapists take a targeted approach to identifying and resolving symptoms!

Tips from the Rebound Physical Therapy Team for Maintaining Postural Awareness

If You Have an Office Job…

  • Adjust your desk and chair so elbows rest at a 90-degree angle.
  • Keep your mouse and keyboard close together to avoid overreaching.
  • Position your monitor so the top is at or just below eye level.
  • Take regular breaks to stretch and reset posture.

If You Have a Manual Job…

  • Avoid bending your torso to pick up items (even if they aren’t heavy). Instead, use positioning devices (like a forklift) to bring the items right in front of you.
  • Avoid repeatedly lifting items above your head whenever possible, and remember to keep what you’re lifting close to your body.
  • Take regular breaks, to reduce fatigue from repetitive movements.
  • Warm up before the workday to prepare your shoulders and spine.

Call Rebound Physical Therapy for Personalized Support

Want to reduce stress on your shoulders throughout the day? Our physical therapists offer personalized ergonomic evaluations and movement strategies to help you feel and function better. Call today to schedule your visit.

Reignite Your New Year’s Resolutions

Did you set big goals last month? And have they already started to fizzle out?

The good news: You’re not alone. The better news: Rebound Physical Therapy can help you reignite your New Year’s resolutions so you can achieve your health and wellness goals all year long.

  • Is pain holding you back? Our physical therapists will dig down to the root cause and find a lasting solution.

  • Did you burn out? Many people go a little too hard at the start of the new year. We’ll help you find a sustainable health or fitness program to stay with you for life.

  • Are you overwhelmed by choice? One of our comprehensive assessments can give you a sense of any biomechanical issues or muscular imbalances in your body–helping to hone your focus.

No matter what goals you set on January 1st, our team wants to see you accomplish them. Schedule an appointment with us today to get started!

Recipe of the Month: Yogurt Covered Strawberries

Ingredients:

  • 12 strawberries
  • 10 ounces vanilla Greek yogurt
  • pink food coloring

Instructions:

  1. Wash the strawberries and pat them dry. No moisture should remain on the berries before dipping them in the yogurt. Place a piece of parchment paper on a large plate or cutting board.
  2. Place the yogurt in a small bowl and holding onto the green leaves, dip each strawberry into the yogurt. Swirl it around to cover the berry, leaving a little red at the top. Place each yogurt dipped strawberry on the parchment paper. When you have dipped all the strawberries, place them in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes. 
  3. Dip the strawberries a second time in the yogurt. To get a gradient of pinks, dip 4 berries in the yogurt with no food coloring, then add a single drop of pink food coloring to the yogurt and stir it till combined. Dip four more berries in the yogurt. Then add another drop of food coloring to the yogurt and stir to combine. Dip the remaining four berries in the yogurt. 
  4. Place the strawberries back in the freezer for 40 minutes to 1 hour. The frozen yogurt will begin melting when you remove the berries from the freezer, so only pull them out when you are ready to serve them. 

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