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Shoulder Pain Treatment & Relief: Know Your Options

Shoulder September 1, 2020

Take back control with a shoulder pain treatment plan that works for you.

Shoulder pain and injuries are complex and, unfortunately, can take a long time to heal. With a 70 percent lifetime prevalence and up to 50 percent of shoulder pain patients reporting persistent and recurring pain, shoulder pain can be a lifelong issue if you don’t put in the effort to find treatments and relief.

Luckily, MOSS is here to help you. We understand that all healing journeys are different, all goals depend on the individual, and, thus, all treatment plans should reflect every patient’s unique differences and desires.

No matter whether this is a chronic issue or a brand new injury, you’ve been in pain long enough. Don’t allow your injury & pain to control your life.

The Five Phases of Healing


Healing is a journey that is unique to every individual. There is no template to follow, no “sure-fire” plan that will magically cure you, and there’s no way to predict your journey. 

Two people with the exact same injury could have completely different treatment plans based on their goals, their pain, and their overall effort.

At MOSS, we utilize the Five Phases of Healing in order to understand every patient’s situation and create a plan perfect for them. The Five Phases of Healing are: 

  1. Minimize Pain and Inflammation
  2. Restore Mobility, Flexibility, and Strength
  3. Return to Normal Function and Activity
  4. Maintenance and Injury Prevention
  5. Performance Enhancement

If you’re reading this post, chances are you could be in phase one or two looking for pain relief and methods to improve your shoulder mobility.

However, don’t think that once you’ve completed phase one (minimizing your pain and inflammation) that you’re completely healed! We distinguish phases of healing for a reason: healing doesn’t end with the completion of one phase! 

In fact, it’s after phase one that most of your true recovery will take place. Reducing that pain and inflammation during the first phase of healing helps allow you to continue your recovery by restoring mobility, flexibility, and strength that wouldn’t have been possible without that initial pain reduction.


If you’re looking for more detailed information on shoulder pain causes, MOSS has got you covered!

Sign up for our FREE shoulder workshop here & check out our article explaining common shoulder pain causes here.


Now that we understand that this is indeed a process, let’s look into shoulder pain treatments available to you to reduce pain and get you moving forward towards your end-goals:

Physical Therapy Stretching & Exercises

Physical therapy with gentle stretching & light exercises provided by licensed physical therapists are going to be some of the best treatment options for shoulder pain. These exercises can be adjusted to be best suited for your body, injury type, and pain levels.

These exercises work not only to improve your mobility (which rapidly deteriorates with shoulder injuries), but they can also work to reduce inflammation and pain as you strengthen the muscles & joints.

Take Your Meds & Know Your Limits

In order to start improving your flexibility, mobility, and strength, you’re going to need to reduce your pain and inflammation enough to get moving and working with your exercises. 

Pain medication (whether it’s prescribed, OTC, herbal, etc) can work wonders on your recovery process. Reduced pain and swelling make it easier to move your shoulder, work on exercises, and get through physical therapy sessions with proper form and better results.

At MOSS, we help coach patients to understand & noticing their pain levels and discomfort. After weeks, months, or even years of pain, it’s easy for many of us to give up on shoulder pain treatment or learn to live with pain. 

What was once a horrible six on the pain scale can morph into an, “Oh, this isn’t that bad, I can handle it.” But just because you can handle the pain doesn’t mean you should! In fact, it can be a detriment to your progress.

We will help you understand your limits and help you accept & understand your pain levels. This can help both us and you determine what’s within reach (literally and figuratively), what needs to be worked on, and how we can make your physical therapy sessions as impactful as possible.


Shoulder pain isn’t something you have to live with.

Get all of the information you need to heal at our FREE shoulder pain workshop. Sign up here.


KT Tape

If your shoulder pain stems from a muscle strain or tear, KT Tape can help stabilize the muscles.

KT tape provides support and stabilization of the muscles, making it easier for patients to perform exercises, stretches, and physical therapy sessions with less pain & discomfort.

Electrical Stimulation

If you’re having a muscle issue, electrical stimulation therapy can work wonders.

Now, don’t hear “electrical” and panic. Electrical stimulation, e-stim for short, sends very small electrical pulses through your muscles. These pulses usually feel similar to tingling sensation.

These pulses cause your muscles to contract and release, which improves blood flow and promotes healing of the area. 

E-stim can also target your nerves instead of your muscles, which blocks pain signals from reaching your brain.

Ultrasound

Ultrasound is very similar to e-stim except that instead of using electrical pulses to stimulate the area, it uses sound waves. This shoulder pain treatment sends sound waves to penetrate the muscles and connective tissues. It increases circulation, reduces swelling & inflammation, and, in turn, relieves pain.

Deep Tissue Laser 

Do you ever feel pain that comes from the inside that no matter how much you massage, poke, or prod, you can’t reach it? 

This is because muscles are formed in many different layers. Some are close to the surface of the skin meaning they’re much more easily massaged, targeted, and manipulated.

It’s the deeper layers of muscles and tissues that can give people more trouble. 

This issue is particularly common with shoulder injuries; muscles deep within the shoulder like the muscles of the rotator cuff are often hard to target with traditional therapies. So how do you treat those muscles?

Don’t give up! It is reachable with the cutting-edge and highly effective deep tissue laser therapy. 

With deep tissue laser therapy, we’re able to reach those injured muscles that are far below the surface of your skin. Some patients find that this fast treatment works wonders with noticeable improvements right after the session!

Here’s what one of our patients said about her laser treatment:

“I made very little progress [with other methods] if anything the level of pain and physical limitation worsened! [But] after the very first deep tissue laser session at Moss Rehab, I felt relief. I knew immediately I was in good hands. My life is back to normal thanks to Moss Rehabilitation!”

Another patient was moved to tears after her first laser session:

“The day after my first laser therapy, I was able to lean over and easily put my fingers on the floor… something I haven’t been able to do in years. I nearly cried from joy. I cannot possibly thank the crew at Moss enough for giving me my life back!”

Operative Treatments

Surgery is sometimes the only option for certain types of shoulder injuries with common procedures including:

  • Rotator cuff repair
  • Torn labrum surgery
  • Tendon & connective tissue repair
  • Fracture repairs

Aside from these major injuries, surgery can be an option for other types of issues including arthritis, muscle strains, dislocations, and more.

Keep this in mind though: surgery is not a cure. In fact, surgery is technically a trauma to the body meaning that even the act of surgery itself can lead to pain & discomfort. Post-operative slings are common with shoulder procedures, which often cause muscle soreness, neck pain, back pain, and, ironically, pain in the shoulders.

Physical therapy and other treatments on this list can reduce pain caused by surgery as well as promote post-operative healing.

Shoulder Pain Treatments: Get Relief with MOSS

The treatments on this list are simply a part of an overall treatment plan. In order to reach your goals, you’ll need to put in the effort to work your way through the Five Phases of Healing at your own pace with your own goals in mind.

Whether that goal is to be able to start a garden or throw the winning touchdown, MOSS can help make it a bit easier with our shoulder pain treatment options. We have all of these services and more available in our Springtown office to make the perfect plan for you, your condition, and your long-term goals.

Contact us to set up an appointment and to learn more about potential treatment options for you. Get started on your personal healing journey today!
And if you’re experiencing shoulder pain, consider these two options. First of all, you can give us a call for a FREE discovery visit & consultation with our experts. Secondly, you can sign up for our FREE September 12th shoulder pain workshop at our Springtown location. We’ll answer the most popular inquiries related to shoulder pain cases, shoulder pain treatments, and take any questions you might have.

Get Your Life Back So You Can Do What You Love. Call Today!
817-220-MOSS (6677)
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