Shoulder Injury Treatment in Laguna Niguel

What is the shoulder and clavicle region?

The clavicle consists of a slender, long bone that runs horizontally between the tops of your two shoulders. Interestingly, the clavicle is the only bone that runs horizontally along its length — the other long bones run vertically, in your legs and arms. The clavicle is commonly referred to as the collarbone because it runs directly beneath where your shirt collar would be.

Why is there pain in the shoulder and clavicle region?

It’s quite common to experience shoulder and/or clavicle pain. Even though the clavicle isn’t a “moving” bone, exterior pressure and weight can bear on this bone and cause discomfort. In addition, pain from one or both shoulders can radiate to the clavicle. Shoulder pain is even more common — because the shoulder joint is so complex as well as so often used, pain in this area usually occurs to almost everyone at least once.

Common causes of shoulder and clavicle pain

• Stress fracture, from too much weight or pressure on the clavicle. Even the tiniest stress fracture can cause immense pain.
• Osteoarthritis, where the protective cartilage around the clavicle or shoulder has worn down. See our page on arthritis and joint pain.
• Bruising, where force trauma has occurred and bruised the bone, possibly from an accident such as a vehicle accident.
• Poor sleep posture, in which case your chiropractor can recommend a sleep posture that won’t negatively affect the shoulder or clavicle region.
• Osteomyelitis, which is a bone infection commonly spread through the blood.

Rotator cuff injury

The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles — supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis — whose tendons wrap the head of the humerus and hold it centred in its socket while the arm moves. Because they work constantly and through a large range, they are the most commonly injured structures in the shoulder.

Injury sits on a spectrum. At the mild end is tendinopathy: the tendon is irritated and disorganised rather than torn, usually from repetitive overhead work or a sudden increase in load. Beyond that are partial-thickness tears, and then full-thickness tears where the tendon separates from the bone.

The pattern most people describe is pain reaching overhead or behind the back, difficulty sleeping on that side, and weakness that shows up when lifting the arm out to the side or rotating it outward. Pain that is worse at night is a common and useful clue.

Tendinopathy and most partial tears respond well to conservative care — restoring joint mechanics, releasing the surrounding soft tissue, and progressively loading the cuff and the muscles that control the shoulder blade. A full-thickness tear in an active patient is a different conversation, and if your exam points that way we will refer you for an orthopedic opinion rather than continue care that will not close a tear.

Frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis)

Frozen shoulder is a problem with the joint capsule itself, not the muscles around it. The capsule thickens, tightens, and adheres, and the joint progressively loses motion.

It classically moves through three phases. The freezing phase is the painful one, where stiffness builds and the shoulder aches at rest and at night. In the frozen phase the pain settles but the stiffness dominates, and everyday reaching becomes genuinely restricted. In the thawing phase motion gradually returns. The whole process commonly runs one to three years if nothing is done, which is why early management is worth it.

The distinguishing feature is loss of passive range of motion — if we move your arm for you and it still will not go, that points to the capsule rather than the cuff. External rotation is usually the first and most limited direction. It is more common in people with diabetes or thyroid conditions, and it often follows a period where the shoulder was immobilised after an injury or surgery.

Care focuses on maintaining and recovering the motion you have, easing pain enough to keep the joint moving, and giving you a home routine to protect the range you regain between visits.

Shoulder impingement syndrome

Impingement describes what happens when the space beneath the acromion narrows and the structures inside it — the cuff tendons and the subacromial bursa — get compressed as you raise your arm.

The signature complaint is a painful arc: the shoulder feels reasonable at the bottom of the movement, hurts through roughly the middle of raising the arm out to the side, and often eases again at the top. Reaching into a back seat, putting on a jacket, or working overhead tends to provoke it.

It is usually a mechanical problem rather than a structural one, which is why it responds well to care. The common contributors are a shoulder blade that does not rotate properly as the arm lifts, a rounded upper back and forward shoulder position that closes the space down further, and the tightness that builds once you have been guarding the joint for a while. Addressing posture and thoracic mobility is often as important as treating the shoulder itself.

Left alone, impingement is a common route into cuff tendinopathy — the compression that causes the pain is also what irritates the tendon over time.

Your chiropractor can treat shoulder and clavicle pain

Our team is ready to offer a variety of non-invasive treatment options to alleviate pain and discomfort. Chiropractic treatment for shoulder and clavicle pain is a proven and effective method that has been used for many decades.

For rotator cuff pain, frozen shoulder, and shoulder tendonitis specifically, shockwave therapy is one of our most-used options, and laser therapy helps with rotator cuff conditions and tendonitis. Massage therapy and cupping can relieve the muscle tension that builds up around a painful shoulder.

If you or a loved one are experiencing shoulder and/or clavicle pain, please contact us or call (949) 249-2720.