Physical Therapy And Separated Shoulder

There are a number of reasons why patients take the help of a physical therapist in their treatment process. The number one reason is to fight the pain and rebuild the strength and mobility that the body boasted of having before getting serious injuries like separated shoulder.

Symptoms of separated shoulder:

The symptoms of separated shoulder are deceptive in nature. They may come suddenly or else you may discover that you have a separated shoulder even after a few days of sustaining injury. Some common symptoms, which are also later treated by the physical therapist, include pain in and around the shoulder, loose feeling around the shoulder, extreme weakness, inability to move the shoulder effectively and unaccustomed numbness. Diagnosis is made on the basis of X-rays, and after primary treatment, the job of helping the patient recover fully is assigned to the physical therapist.

Benefits of physical therapy:

Fortunately, separated shoulder heals completely and if you enlist the help of a therapist, the process can speed up drastically. Physical therapy focuses primarily on increasing the strength of the shoulder and in helping the patient to improve mobility of the shoulder and the arm. Exercises are given by the therapist to help the patient make leaps in his progress from one session to another. In the first few sessions the exercises are basic and fairly simple. Once the patient starts showing signs of improvement, advanced exercises are given by the therapist suitable to the strength of the shoulder.

Physical therapy in many cases also prevents the shoulder from separating again by increasing its overall strength and endurance. The rehabilitation process for patients of shoulder injury can be significantly longer and may last for months depending on the severity of the injury. However, this gives time to the therapist to strengthen the muscles surrounding the shoulder joints. The patients are also given some activities that can improve the flexibility of the joints without damaging the healing process.

During this time, the patients are also advised to take adequate rest and to refrain from activities like sports, and other movements that can interfere with the goals of the therapy. Once the patient starts showing improvement, the numbers of physical therapy sessions lessen or else, the focus of the session changes in maintaining the improvement in the condition of the shoulder till it is fully healed.

Thus, there are innumerable benefits of physical therapy that can be enjoyed by patients suffering from separated shoulder.