Shoulder Impingement – What is it?

Shoulder impingement is a common diagnosis / descriptor of pain. It refers to the joint pinching or impinging upon a muscle / bursa / tendon / bone as the arm is moved, usually overhead.

Shoulder impingement in and of itself can be a very vague term – it doesn’t tell you what is impinged, or the more important question ‘why’. It is important for a full diagnosis to include which tissues are affected, and the likely mechanism of aggravation.

Shoulders are a complex joint, so it can be hard to narrow things down immediately. Sometimes it will take some patience and experimentation with different approaches to fix the issue.

The best thing you can do for shoulder impingement is to prevent it occurring in the first place. Take care to watch your posture while working at a desk or on computers. Make sure you are keeping somewhat active – your body gets ‘good’ at what you ask it to do. If all you ask it to do is sit and slouch, guess what you get good at!

If you have a troublesome shoulder, come and see us for some guidance. Our physiotherapist Chris has had a lot of success utilising ART and exercise based rehab to correct shoulder dysfunction.