Rapidly Fixable Shoulder Problem

Joel Laing, a McKenzie specialist in Australia, gives a great demonstration of a rapidly resolvable shoulder issue - specifically, shoulder pain and loss of motion. The wonderful thing about the McKenzie method is that we are trained to actually LOOK for these problems. I was not trained to look for these problems during my physical therapy doctoral program. Now that I know how to diagnose these issues, most patients get better in a handful of visits or less versus weeks/months of PT. 

In his case he needs to repeatedly move his shoulder backwards with his palm down. Typically when we find the healing movement the patient needs, the patient does a few sets per day. As Joel also points out, there are often certain movements that make the problem worse as well. While the shoulder heals, we usually ask the patient to avoid those motions for a few days if possible.

When it comes to shoulder pain, the top two diagnoses I see are: 
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1. The pain is actually coming from the neck or upper mid-back, so we treat the spine with movement and the shoulder pain goes away.
2. The pain is quickly resolvable with targeted shoulder movement (like in Joel's case).

Don't let shoulder pain affect your life; in the large majority of cases we can get it better fast. And don't get a diagnosis based on an MRI. Most people over 30 will have problems in the shoulder on an MRI. Since problems on an image (a torn labrum, degenerated tendons, a torn rotator cuff, bone spurs) are so prevalent in people without pain, what you see doesn't necessarily correlate with your pain. You instead need a quality McKenzie clinical exam. -- Laura