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Frozen Shoulder Physiotherapy Exercises – Motivating Yourself To Do Them

You know that you should be doing your frozen shoulder physiotherapy exercises but you have so many other things to do. Right? And things are moving so much more slowly because of your frozen shoulder and the pain associated with it. How on earth are you going to find the time and motivation to do these exercises?

This article looks first at why you’re not doing them.
Then we will look at what you can do to make sure you do them.
First, the possible reasons you’re not doing them.

You Want To See Results Immediately
It would be great if you could do something which would sort out your frozen shoulder right away, wouldn’t it? But unfortunately there is no magic solution. It will take time. And when things are not moving as fast as we wish, it’s tempting to think it won’t work for us. And that’s when we give up.

It’s Hard Work
Is it really hard work? If you choose to see it as hard work it will feel like a chore and you will start to dread doing the exercises. You will then find any excuse not to do them. You will find other more pressing things to do. And then suddenly the day has gone. You have run out of time, and you don’t do them at all.

Your Frame Of Mind
You would rather not have a frozen shoulder. And these physiotherapy exercises are something extra that needs to be done. Maybe you are cross about your shoulder and cross about having to do the exercises. This is understandable. But fighting against yourself isn’t going to make the task any easier. Instead of being angry, tell yourself how happy you are that there is something you can do about your ailment.

You Are Put Off By The Varying Length Of Recovery Time
You have heard that the recovery time varies from person to person – and that some cases can last for as long as three years. You’re bound to be one of the unlucky ones. Tell yourself that you have no idea how long your recovery will take – but you are going to make it as quick as possible by doing your exercises. Read more…

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Physiotherapy for Shoulder Rotator Cuff Injury

The shoulder is one of the most mobile joints in the body, allowing us to reach out and grab an object and place it almost anywhere. This is all possible because of our rotator cuff muscles, which are always active during arm movements to keep the ball of the shoulder in the socket. It is no surprise then that the rotator cuff is subject to overuse and injuries are commonplace in the physiotherapy clinic.

The rotator cuff is made up of 4 small but important muscles which play a key role in the stability of the shoulder. These are the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis and teres minor muscles. More often than not, it is the supraspinatus that is at fault however any one of these muscles can be injured either in isolation or in conjunction with one another.

While injury can occur from an acute incident, such as falling onto an outstretched arm, it is more likely to be caused from repetitive overload of the shoulder musculature and come on gradually. Due to this fact, these conditions usually affect people over the age of 35, however they are also quite common in the sporting population, especially “overhead athletes” such as swimmers, throwers and those involved in racquet sports.

Common complaints are:

* Pain when moving the arm out to the side
* Difficulty sleeping on the injured side
* Difficulty doing overhead activities, such as hanging out the washing, putting things away on the top shelf
* Dull ache in shoulder after activity

Several things can predispose a person to a rotator cuff disorder, however the most common cause is impingement of the rotator cuff due to abnormal scapulo-humeral rhythm (the integrated movement of the shoulder blade and arm) and weak rotator cuff muscles. Poor scapulo-humeral rhythm is often the result of muscular tightness and strength imbalances and can be effectively treated by physiotherapy. Read more…

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