Proven Solutions for Shoulder, Elbow and Wrist Pain
Are you experiencing pain or weakness in your arm? Do you find lifting and holding things difficult due to pain in your arm? You could be suffering from tendon dysfunction or even arthritis in your joints. Fortunately, our Libra OT PLLC in Plano, TX therapists can help you find the relief you’ve been looking for!
Whether your pain results from an injury or repetitive stress, it’s often the result of underlying trauma or inflammation of the arm’s tendons, cartilage, or nerves. Your pain can be so severe that doing normal activities of daily living seems impossible.
Call our clinic today, call to request an appointment. With guidance from your town physical therapists, you can find solutions to your pain and get back to living the life you enjoy!
What exactly is causing your pain?
No matter what joint in the upper extremities is hurting, our team at Libra OT PLLC in Plano, TX can help. For example, limited shoulder mobility due to pain, stiffness, or weakness can affect a person’s ability to carry out daily activities (eating, dressing, personal hygiene) and work responsibilities.
Factors such as heavy lifting, repetitive movements (especially in awkward positions), and vibrations influence the severity of symptoms and disability. The most common causes of shoulder pain and disability are:
- Rotator cuff disorders
- Joint disorders
- Arthritis and bone spurs
- Referred neck pain
- Bursitis and tendinitis
When it comes to pain and dysfunction in the elbow, overuse injuries often cause pain. Various sports, hobbies, and jobs require repetitive movements leading to overuse. The leading causes of elbow pain and dysfunction are:
- Tennis and Golfer’s elbow (i.e., tendinitis)
- Ligament sprains from throwing, especially with pitchers, are common
- Arthritis
- Broken and/or dislocated elbow from falls or contact injuries
The wrist is one of the most common sites of fractures related to falling on an outstretched arm. But when it comes to chronic wrist pain, the most common risk factors are in groups that perform physically demanding activities like manual labor or at jobs that require computer use or repetitive movements.
The leading causes of wrist pain:
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Arthritis
- Wrist tendonitis
- Repetitive motion syndrome
Shoulder, elbow, and wrist pain are often the result of workplace injury and repetitive stress injuries related to sports and/or improper technique or equipment. While it is sometimes possible to take action to prevent an injury from developing, it is crucial to your recovery to get help sooner than later!
How to tell what your symptoms mean
For example, aching or stiffness around the front or the side of the shoulder is often due to a tendon/rotator cuff injury. In comparison, pain in the back of the shoulder is likely coming from the joint itself. Clarifying the location of your pain will help your physical therapist figure out the source of your pain and the appropriate plan to resolve it.
Although some think the top of the shoulder blade is the “shoulder,” it can sometimes be from the muscles related to issues at the neck and not the shoulder itself. People with neck pain will first feel symptoms in their shoulder blades because that is where the nerves travel from the area in the neck with the problem.
When trying to identify the cause of pain in the inner or outer aspect of the elbow, the most likely culprit is commonly thought to be a tendon or ligament injury. Typically, the pain will be sharp at the junction of the tendon and bone but may refer to the forearm generally due to tendon-related injury or inflammation.
Most limitations in the range of motion of a joint are related to arthritis, but if there is a specific traumatic event, it can be related to ligaments or cartilage injuries. Any weakness or clumsiness when gripping or holding onto things can be signs of deeper problems.
A common indication of a more severe condition would be the more dysfunction and disability, and the more your conditions warrant seeking help sooner than later. Ignoring your pain or waiting too long to be seen can worsen the problem and eliminate simple solutions.
What to expect at your physical therapy sessions
At Libra OT PLLC in Plano, TX, our physical therapists will assess your particular condition to identify the contributing factors and address all of them. Your therapist is skilled at hands-on intervention and exercise selection for the most comprehensive and appropriate intervention to help you resolve your pain and/or restore your function.
Our physical therapy treatments for the shoulder, elbow, and wrist will likely include manual therapy, joint mobilization manipulation, exercise instruction, education, and techniques like KT taping and joint splinting. These have all been proven to help alleviate pain and restore function.
Interventions such as education, manual therapy, therapeutic exercise, and nerve and tendon glide techniques are widely used for effective results. Our goal is to use any treatment technique necessary to get you the best possible outcomes as soon as possible!
Contact Libra OT PLLC in Plano, TX today to request an appointment!
Addressing the pain early on is the best way to prevent an issue from becoming more debilitating. Call Libra OT PLLC in Plano, TX today and schedule a consultation with one of our specialists.
We can help you overcome pain or injury while restoring proper strength and functionality to your shoulders, elbows, and wrists!