Of the nearly half-billion American shoulders — two for every man, woman, and child —most shoulders work well enough most of the time. And that’s good. We humans depend on our shoulders for free and painless movement in virtually every physical activity: driving, walking, eating, golfing, swimming, working, whatever. We can hardly do anything without some shoulder involvement, though it is sometimes ever so slight.
Even breathing requires an infinitesimal shoulder movement, as does merely turning the head or countless other ordinary activities.
SHOULDERS AT HIGH RISK
Yet for all the physical responsibility nature puts on our shoulders, their complex structures and functions make them highly susceptible to stress and injury leading to shoulder stiffness, limited motion, and chronic, nagging pain. Few other nerve-muscle-skeletal problems slow one’s life down more decisively.
SEVERAL JOINTS—NOT JUST ONE
Though we usually think of the shoulder as being only one ball-and-socket joint connecting the upper arm to the collar bone and shoulder blade, actually several structural and functional joints, along with a maze of soft tissues of various kinds, make up the shoulder area known as the shoulder girdle. Packed tightly and precisely into this area, bones, nerves, blood vessels, muscles, fascias, ligaments, and bursas normally work and move in flawless harmony, like the parts of a watch.
But when something goes wrong with a shoulder or its nerve energy supply, movement becomes painful and restricted, chronic pain sets in and the sweetness of living suddenly turns sour.
CAUSES
Frequently, the underlying cause of shoulder pain is misaligned (subluxated) vertebras pinching spinal nerves which may alter normal nerve energy flow and bring on problems.
Other causes include muscle spasms, poor posture, whiplash injury and other injuries, radiculitis, arthritis, bursitis, and other problems such as referred pain from internal diseases and conditions.
WHAT TO DO
Shoulder pain may vary from mild to severe and may come and go, but the degree of pain does not always disclose the extent or severity of the underlying cause and what to do about it. Those factors can usually be determined by a chiropractic examination.