Shoulder Impingment

Imagine you're behind the wheel of a large truck driving down the freeway.
Up ahead you see an overpass.

There's a very small space between the bottom of the overpass and the top of your truck.
You hold your breath and just barely make it through.

Now run this scenario through your mind again.
But this time imagine you've added more air to your truck's tires.

This isn't going to go so well, is it?


It's a bit like what happens with a shoulder impingement.

There's this small space between the shoulder and arm where your rotator cuff tendons sit. When you move with faulty shoulder mechanics the tendons become inflamed and irritated. This is like adding more air to your truck’s tires. Then these irritated tendons get squeezed in this small space between the bones.


Ouch, where's the pain?

Now arm motions like reaching overhead or putting on your coat cause the bones to scrape, or pinch the tendons. You'll feel a sharp pain, or pinch. Although the pain is related to the shoulder, the pain is often not felt in the shoulder. The pain radiates down the arm. So you may not think it's a shoulder problem when in fact it is.


What are the risk factors?

Bad posture, rounded shoulders, and sitting with your head forward. Basically the posture you get from sitting at a desk all day. This faulty posture makes this 'overpass' space smaller to start with.


How do you avoid a shoulder impingement?

The best way to avoid a shoulder impingement is to be aware of your posture. Most times you're busy and you just don't think about it. So, it's a good idea to set a reminder alarm. This way you can remind yourself to sit up straight every hour.


Bad posture causes an imbalance.

This imbalance puts you at greater risk for an shoulder impingement. And if you find yourself with a nagging pain it's time to see someone about it.

There are certain things you can do to correct the imbalance. We need to figure out how to get the air out of the tires to create more space. Sometimes surgical intervention is necessary to burrow out the area to create more space from the get go.

Call us to set up an appointment and we can get you started on a routine to correct the imbalance.


To your health,
Jon, Pete and Michelle


If you have any questions please feel free to give us a call at the office (212) 317-8303.