with Dr. Blair Martin, DTCM, R.Ac.
In today’s high impact society shoulder injuries are a very common place amongst all classes of individuals regardless of age or physical condition. Whether it is an athletic injury from throwing a baseball or the simple day to day action of lifting your child, shoulder injuries are unfortunately very common and don’t always heal up quickly and go away on their own. Fortunately there is a possibility of some assistance to drastically speed your healing process and decrease pain.
Acupuncture is a treatment modality that has been practiced for thousands of years and is a very non-evasive treatment that has a high success of helping deal with shoulder injuries. An assessment must first be undertaken to determine the location and nature of the injury to determine the best course of action. Once an assessment is complete a treatment plan will be discussed as well as possible lifestyle modifications and exercises. Common injuries include strains, tears, and tendonitis of one or more muscles of the rotator cuff or the biceps tendon amongst others. These injuries can produce a wide range of symptoms from a mild ache with full range of motion to an extreme amount of pain and virtually no range of motion.
The goals of an acupuncturist are to decrease pain, remove blood stasis and decrease inflammation in order to improve range of motion and speed the healing process. A patient who is cooperative with lifestyle modifications and takes exercise advice will usually help to speed their healing time drastically with the assistance of acupuncture.
