Shoulder Pain
Shoulder pain rarely comes from one clear moment, and most people who've dealt with it have already tried something that didn't fix it.
A lot of people come to us after a cortisone shot that helped for a few weeks and then didn't, a round of stretches from another clinic that never changed anything, or a surgeon's recommendation they're not ready to accept. The shoulder is a complicated joint, and treating it without measuring what it's actually doing usually means treating the wrong thing.
Why Shoulder Pain Gets Misdiagnosed
The shoulder relies on a combination of joint mobility, rotator cuff strength, and coordinated movement between the shoulder blade and the arm.
Pain can show up in the same spot for very different reasons: a weak rotator cuff compensating during overhead movement, a joint that's lost normal glide, or a nerve issue referring pain from the neck. A generic exercise sheet aimed at "shoulder pain" treats a guess. We test first so treatment is aimed at what we actually find.
How We Evaluate It
We run dynamometer strength testing on the rotator cuff and surrounding muscles, which returns a percentile against your age group, along with range of motion testing and video analysis of the specific movement that hurts, whether that's an overhead press, a throw, or reaching behind your back.
You see the same numbers we see before we talk about treatment.
What Shoulder Pain Can Mean
Rotator cuff strain or tear, shoulder impingement, labral irritation, frozen shoulder, and referred pain from the neck can all present as shoulder pain. Some of these respond well to conservative treatment. Some need imaging or a surgical consult, and we tell you plainly if that's the case.
No more waking up at night with shoulder pain! RX Rehab did an excellent job of releasing my shoulder and elbow. They offered helpful exercises to work on in between appointments. Feeling great after only 6 weeks!
How We Treat It
Once we know what we're treating, your plan can include manual therapy such as joint mobilization or dry needling, therapeutic exercise targeted at the specific weakness or restriction we found, and a home program you do between visits.
We re-measure your strength and motion against your original numbers as you progress.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do I need surgery for shoulder pain?
Not always. Surgery is recommended in this valley for shoulder problems that conservative care can resolve. Testing tells us whether your case is one of them, and if it isn't, we say so and make the referral.
- How long does shoulder pain take to resolve?
That depends on what the evaluation finds. You leave your first visit with a plan of care that includes an expected duration, so you're not guessing.
- What if I've already tried physical therapy for my shoulder?
Tell us what you've already tried. A lot of what we see is a previous plan that never got re-measured against results. We start by testing what your shoulder is actually doing now.
Know What's Wrong and What's Next
No guessing, no generic exercise sheet. Just a measured answer and a plan with your name on it.