Shockwave for Shoulder Pain San Diego

Shockwave for Shoulder Pain

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Shockwave for shoulder pain is becoming one of the leading therapies for treating chronic, unresolved shoulder pain. Many chronic shoulder conditions involve tendinosis of the rotator cuff. Tendinosis means that the tendon is beginning to degenerate due to chronic injury to the tendon. To help the tendon heal, shockwave for shoulder pain sends high energy sound waves deep into the affected tissues. These soundwaves cause irritation to the damaged tissues which results in the body perceiving that are as being “injured”. The body will then send growth factors to the area, release stem cells, increase capillary production so that the injured area can heal at a higher level.

Shockwave therapy has many benefits. It often will reduce pain and increase mobility immediately after the first treatment. Typical treatment protocols involve 4-6 treatments at 1 treatment per week. This accumulation of treatment ignites the bodies natural healing response to repair the damaged tissues. Our office uses the most advanced shockwave equipment from Kinas medical, the leader in shockwave technology.

Check Out Our Treatment Video Below

Our patient has been dealing with rotator cuff tendinosis. Traditional Physical Therapy, Graston Technique, and Active Release Technique offered only short term improvement before pain returned. The video shows his 4th shockwave treatment and has noticed significant improvement!

Shockwave San Diego

After the last shockwave for shoulder pain treatment, we wait 4-6 additional weeks to continue to allow the healing process to occur. Other treatment options for shoulder pain, frozen shoulder, rotator cuff tendinopathies include PRP injections, cortisone shots, Graston Technique, Physical Therapy exercises, and Active Release Technique. We find that shockwave therapy offers fast, efficient treatment that is cost effective for our patients. PRP injections also utilize the body’s own healing response however each treatment ranges from $500-$1,500 per treatment and often requires multiple rounds of injections. PRP injections are also known to be quite painful for the patient while shockwave treatments are generally much more mild.

Can Shockwave Therapy Help with all Shoulder Conditions?

In general, shockwave therapy is very effective for long standing injuries lasting longer than 6 months. It is effective at stimulating the body’s healing response, breaking down scar tissue, and eliminating trigger points. All of which helps with decrease pain and increase range of motion. Shockwave therapy for frozen shoulder is particularly effective because the sound waves can penetrate deep into the shoulder joint where the adhesions in frozen shoulder are found. Many patients who receive shockwave therapy for frozen shoulder see immediate improvement in pain and range of motion!

Are you interested in shockwave therapy for shoulder pain? Schedule with our sports chiropractors at our shockwave clinic, Peak Form Health Center! We are conveniently located in Mission Valley, San Diego. We are one of the few sports injury clinics that offer shockwave therapy for sports injuries.

Preventing Shoulder injuries

Shoulder Impingement and Shoulder Pain

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Shoulder impingement is a common condition that we treat at our sports injury clinic in Mission Valley, San Diego. Not only do we see shoulder impingement in the athletes we treat but we see it in many different professions that require repetitive use of the shoulder. Our conservative, non invasive shoulder treatments help provide pain relief quickly and prevent shoulder impingement from reoccurring in the future.

What is shoulder impingement

Shoulder impingement syndrome is a condition where the space between the head of the humerus (upper arm bone) and the acromion process (portion of the shoulder blade) narrows due to structural or functional causes. Structural narrowing of the space is due to arthritis, or bone spurring where the bone spur presses into the tissues in that space. Functional narrowing is due to poor shoulder stabilization from the rotator cuff, scapular dyskinesis (shoulder blade not moving well), and/or muscular imbalances between the front and back of the shoulder.When the space is narrowed, several structures are at risk to become irritated: rotator cuff, bursa, and biceps tendon.

Shoulder pain anatomy San Diego Sports Doctor

What are the symptoms of shoulder impingement? 

Classic signs and symptoms are pain in the shoulder while lifting the arm overhead, turning a steering wheel, pressing/reaching in front of body. Sport specific signs and symptoms include, pain with overhead activities (throwing baseball, volleyball spiking), swimming,Crossfit (thrusters, snatches), weightlifting, bodybuilding.

As impingement syndrome progresses and shoulder structures become more irritated, pain at night, pain and stiffness in the morning is a common complaint.

Evaluation

Our sports doctors will take a thorough history of the shoulder pain and perform an exam to the shoulder, upper back, and neck as there are many structures that overlap between those areas. The exam will help identify shoulder impingement and which structures are causing pain. The most common conditions that are diagnosed with impingement syndrome are:

  • Rotator cuff strain
  • Rotator cuff tear
  • Biceps tendonitis
  • Biceps tendinosis
  • Subacromial bursitis
  • Labral tear (SLAP tear, degenerative tear)

In certain cases, advanced imaging may be necessary to determine the extent of the impingement syndrome and subsequent injury to the und. An MRI can identify rotator cuff tears and Labral tears.

Noninvasive Shoulder Treatment in San Diego

At our Mission Valley office, we utilize the latest techniques to treat shoulder impingement including: Active Release Technique (ART), Graston Technique, joint mobilization/manipulation, and targeted rehabilitative exercise.

Initial stages of care usually involve working on the flexibility and mobility of the tissues around the shoulder. This helps by improving functional limitations at the shoulder joint. After mobility has improved, targeted strength and control exercises for the shoulder are prescribed. This helps avoid re-injury to the shoulder in the future and can help improve performance.

In some cases, if the impingement is due to bone spurring or labral tear, an orthopedic referral may be warranted.

Shoulder pain treatment sports doctor

Schedule today to get a proper assessment and treatment for your shoulder pain. Our sports chiropractors are trained to treat your shoulder pain and other sports injuries effectively, and efficiently.