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We help active people overcome shoulder pain and injury.
Physiotherapy for Shoulder Pain
What is the Role of physiotherapy in treating shoulder pain
Physiotherapy helps to address the underlying causes of shoulder pain through improving range of motion, muscle strength, and promoting healing.
Assessment and Diagnosis
A thorough assessment of your shoulder pain will help to narrow down the root cause and inform a comprehensive rehab plan that will address contributing factors. If your physio doesn’t communicate a diagnosis to you, then how can they plan accordingly?
Pain Management
Understanding your condition or injury and how to manage it is the most important thing in pain management. Physio’s can also use secondary techniques such as manual therapy, massage, heat therapy, and electrotherapy to reduce sensitivity, pain and inflammation in the shoulder joint.
Range of Motion Exercises
Limited range of motion is a common problem with shoulder pain, especially overhead or behind your back. Our physio’s will give you exercises specific to your condition and goals – no cookie cutter programs here!
Strengthening Exercises
Weakness and inhibition are common in shoulder pain and can lead to altered movement patterns and instability. Initial rehab exercises are important, but we make sure we progress from these to genuine strength exercises designed to build muscle size and power to make for a more functional joint.
Postural Changes
Sometimes a small postural change is enough to reduce sensitivity in certain movements. Posture is often a contributor to ongoing shoulder pain, but is usually only 1 part of a bigger picture.
Manual Therapy
Hands-on techniques such as joint mobilization and soft tissue massage can be used by physiotherapists to improve joint function, reduce muscle tension, and alleviate pain in certain injuries and conditions.
Other Modalities
Physiotherapists may use modalities such as ultrasound, electrical stimulation, and cold therapy to enhance healing, reduce inflammation, and relieve pain. These are generally used sparingly and more often in the beginning stages of rehab when your shoulder is most painful. As your pain improves, we reduce these input and focus more on movement, strength and function.
Education and Self-Management
Learning to self-manage your shoulder pain is so important. As your physio, we often only see you once in a week. The more we can help you understand your condition, the better you can handle things in the times between our appointments.
Functional Rehabilitation
Our rehab plans are designed to get you back to your best. From hanging laundry on the line to pressing heavy weights overhead, we focus on your overall functional and plan from the start on how best to guide you to your end goals.
Pre-Surgical Rehabilitation
Research shows that the better your strength, endurance and function before you have surgery, the better your outcomes are likely to be afterwards. It’s that simple. Visiting your physio and designing a plan to prepare for surgery pays off in spades after the fact.
Post-Surgical Rehabilitation
Post shoulder surgery, there’ll often be a protocol to follow. Different surgeons have slightly different preferences, but we can help in ensuring you understand and stick to them. Our physio’s are familiar with many local surgeons and their preferences and we’ll always maintain contact with them through your post-surgery shoulder rehab to ensure we get the best outcomes for you.
Common reasons for Shoulder Pain
- Rotator cuff injuries (such as tears or strains)
- Labral tears (injury to the shoulder socket’s cartilage)
- Acromioclavicular joint (AC joint) separation or injury
- Shoulder joint sprains
- Shoulder impingement syndrome
- Frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis)
- Tendinopathy
- Bursitis
- Shoulder dislocation or instability
- Arthritis (osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis)
- Overuse injuries (repetitive stress on the shoulder joint)
- Muscle strains or pulls
- Nerve compression or pinched nerves (e.g., brachial plexus injury)
- Thoracic outlet syndrome
- Referred pain from neck or cervical spine issues
- Overhead activities or sports-related injuries (e.g., tennis, swimming)
*These are just some of the many possible causes of shoulder pain, and a thorough evaluation by a healthcare professional is essential for accurate diagnosis and treatment.
Examples of when Physiotherapy can be helpful for treating Shoulder Pain
Rotator Cuff Injury
Rotator cuff issues can include muscle strains, tears and tendinopathies. These issues don’t always require surgery (even tears!) and can often be rehabilitated conservatively through managing pain, regaining range of motion and then rebuilding strength, endurance and capacity of the rotator cuff muscles.
We cover this topic in-depth in our article, Rotator cuff tear: All You Need To Know
Frozen Shoulder (Adhesive Capsulitis)
Frozen shoulder can be quite painful in the initial and middle stages so pain management strategies can be very helpful. In the middle and latter stages, progression of exercise helps to restore shoulder function.
Shoulder Impingement Syndrome
Physiotherapy can help to address shoulder impingement through biomechanical changes, strengthening surrounding muscles, and techniques to reduce inflammation and relieve pain.
Overuse Injuries or Tendinopathy
Tendinopathy and overuse injuries require a progressive plan to help improve the quality of muscles and tendons and improve their ability to do work.
What does an Initial physiotherapy appointment for Shoulder Pain look like?
Physiotherapy for shoulder pain typically involves a comprehensive approach tailored to the individual’s specific condition and needs.
Our initial appointments are 40 minutes in length and consist of 4 main parts.
- A detailed discussion with you about your shoulder pain and your general health history. Both are very important parts of the overall picture and help us to plan the most efficient physical examination.
- The physical examination: Your physio will assess a variety of movements and structures in and around your shoulder. This helps to rule in/out different diagnoses.
- Treatment planning: Once a likely diagnosis has been reached treatment planning can begin. This is a collaborative approach between you and your physio. Your physio’s job is to educate you on your condition and give you an idea of what the ‘gold standard’ treatment looks like based on experience and research. From there, you can have a discussion and agree on the best plan for you taking into account your individual circumstances.
- Answer your questions. There’s a lot to the above 3 points and we understand that can be overwhelming. Clearing things up for you is why we’re here!
*You may notice that we have not included any treatment in the above points. Now, most of our initial appointments will receive some kind of treatment, especially in the form of advice and education on how best to manage your injury/condition in the short term which can be hugely helpful in managing pain and discomfort. BUT, an accurate diagnosis AND thorough treatment planning are the most important things we can do for you at the start. As the saying goes…. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
p.s. All our patient receive a copy of their Rehab Management Plan which outlines their diagnosis, the reasons they have this injury/condition, what we’re going to do about it and a rough forecast of how regularly you’ll meet with your physio through your rehab.
Want to learn more about Shoulder Pain?
Check out these shoulder resources:
Our Physiotherapists can help you with:
- Sporting Injuries
- Performance Rehab
- Post Operative Rehab
- Muscle Tears
- Injury Prevention
- Joint Sprains
Our facilities:
PRIVATE TREATMENT ROOM
FULLY EQUIPPED GYM
Our expert physiotherapy offerings
Injured yourself and want to get back to doing what you love?
We’ve got you covered!
Our physiotherapists are active and play sport themselves, so we know the frustration of being injured and unable to play. We’ll work with you to accurately diagnose your injury and formulate a rehab plan that considers your individual sport and level of performance. Not only will we directly treat your injury, our rehab management plan will also focus on maintaining your overall strength and conditioning. This means you’ll return to the sporting field in the best condition possible from head to toe.
When it comes to high level sports rehab, our Stafford Heights Physiotherapy clinic is located within a fully equipped gym, so we have all the equipment required to get you back on the sporting field in top condition.
We can diagnose and treat all manner of injuries including:
- ACL rehab
- Knee pain
- Ankle Sprains
- Muscle Strains
- Shoulder Pain
- Hip & Groin Pain
If surgery is the next step in your rehab journey, then we’re here to help!
We provide full service Pre and Post Surgery Rehab. Research shows us that the better your muscle, joint and nervous systems are before going in for your surgery, the better your recovery and results are afterwards.
We design Physiotherapy rehab programs that have you at your best going in to surgery, and we work with your surgeon post-op to ensure your recovery and rehab progresses smoothly and you can get back to living the life you live sooner rather than later!
Our Stafford Heights Physiotherapists are experienced in many Orthopaedic rehabilitation protocols including:
- Total Hip Replacement
- Total Knee Replacement
- Total Shoulder 0r Reverse Shoulder Replacement
- Spinal surgeries including Fixations, Discectomy and Laminectomy
- Shoulder surgeries including Rotator Cuff Repair
Our musculoskeletal Physiotherapists are experts in dealing with many other areas of the body and of human function. Many of these areas of expertise and training are unknown to the general public as they are less about muscles and joints and more about integration of other systems.
Here we have highlighted a few of the lesser known areas of physiotherapy rehab that our Stafford Heights Physiotherapy clinic can help with. If you’re unsure whether we can help, please give us a call on (07) 2113 3730 and ask our friendly staff!
- Vestibular system – dizziness and vertigo
- Balance and Falls Prevention
- Men’s Health – prostate cancer (including pre/post surgery)
- Neurological Rehab – Traumatic Brain Injury, Stroke, Parkinson’s Disease
The first, and most important step we do is help clear any serious underlying reasons for your pain. If we have reason to question further, physiotherapists have the ability to assess what steps should be taken next and refer you on to the correct medical practitioner to ensure you get the best care.
Fear not though, most back and neck pain does not require further investigation and responds very well to conservative management. This is where we as physio’s can help you best!
Through our unique knowledge of movement and the human body, we can help guide you through your pain and back into function through focussed and progressive rehab programs.
Our physio’s all use a blend of advice and education, hands-on treatment, movement and exercise to build you back into living your life, your way.
First Time Patients
Includes
For first time patients or a new injury. Your initial session includes history taking, assessment and diagnosis, rehabilitation planning and initial treatment (up to 40 minutes in length).
Treatment Room
Includes
For treatments involving hands-on work and simple exercises with bands and dumbbells. Book this follow-up if you'd prefer the privacy of our treatment room (up to 40 minutes in length).
Gym Based Treatment
Includes
For physiotherapy treatment involving strength and conditioning using gym equipment including cardio/resistance machines, barbells or dumbbells (up to 40 minutes in length).
Frequently Asked Questions
The average cost of physiotherapy in Brisbane ranges from $90 to $130. Price is dependent on qualifications, experience, location and treatment session length. Physiotherapy session cost can often be offset by claiming a portion back from your private health provider.
Yes! Physiotherapists are first contact practitioners meaning you do not require a referral to see a physiotherapist. Their training includes the knowledge and ability to identify when investigations should be escalated either through imaging or referral to another health professional such as your GP, a specialist or for imaging. Your physiotherapist will provide you with advice that will allow you to make an informed decision about your health.
Physiotherapists are highly trained across multiple systems in the body. They can assess, diagnose or treat:
- Muscle, bone and joint injuries and conditions
- Cardiorespiratory conditions (ie. COPD, cystic fibrosis)
- Vestibular conditions (ie. dizziness, light-headedness, balance)
- Brain and Nervous System conditions (ie. stroke, traumatic brain injuries, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s)
Here’s 5 things to consider when choosing the best Physiotherapist for you:
- Treatment times – Longer session mean more comprehensive assessment and treatment
- Ethical treatment – Less time on machines, more time with your Physio
- Registered Physiotherapists – you can check their registration on the AHPRA website
- One to one ratio – Your physio is focussed solely on you for your session
- Equipment – Make sure your physio has access to the same equipment you want to use ie. gym equipment
Partners and Preferred Providers
