Shoulder Pain

One of the most common shoulder injuries I see in patients is a strain in the supraspinatus muscle, which is part of the rotator cuff.

To treat this injury, I begin by performing soft tissue release on the bicep muscle — which can get very tight — helping to relax it.

Next I stretch the shoulder and massage the muscles towards the rotator cuff which creates myofascial release and stabilizes the shoulder.

I then check the patient’s range of motion to determine the severity of their shoulder restriction.

After that I get the patient to put their arm behind their back while laying face up on the table, which allows me to access the injured muscles more easily.

By first finding the lesser tubercle on the patient I can then locate their injured supraspinatus.

I then begin working on the supraspinatus by performing a cross fiber friction massage on it, which relieves tension in the muscle by aligning the tendons more consistently. It does this by breaking up scar tissue around the tendon and removing lactic acid from the muscle, both of which cause the muscle to become more fragile and prone to tearing.

Treatment finishes with the patient removing their arm from behind their back and me holding it in an outstretched position while I massage the front of the shoulder to increase blood flow in the area.