Shoulder inflammation can happen to anyone. It is a common joint problem that affects the cartilage, ligaments, muscles, tendons, and nerves which can lead to a painful experience. Other parts of the body can be affected too, like the shoulder blade, arm, hand, and neck.
So, what will you do when you suffer from shoulder inflammation?
Treatments you can do at home
When treating your shoulder, treatments often include the soothing of the inflammation or the swelling and redness of the affected area. The treatment also includes the strengthening of the muscles.
Here are some of the treatments you can do to deal with your shoulder inflammation.
Anti-inflammatory Medicine
The first treatment is the use of anti-inflammatory medicine. There are many types of medications in relieving pain and inflammation of an affected area. The most common one is the use of Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications.
There are also over-the-counter drugs or OTC, some of the medicines in this category are aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen. All of these medications do the same thing. They help reduce the inflammation in the rotator cuff injuries, arthritis, tendonitis, and other various shoulder injuries.
Cold Compress
The next treatment is by the use of a cold compress. Using cold compresses can help reduce the swelling in the shoulder.
In addition to this, using a cold compress can also numb the pain your shoulder’s feeling. To make a cold compress, grab a small towel, a zip lock bag, or any plastic bag that the ice will all fit.
First, put the ice in the zip lock bag or any plastic bag, seal it, and wrap it up with a small towel. Apply the ice bag or cold compress on the affected area of your shoulder for up to 20 minutes and about five times a day. Remember to not apply the ice bag or cold compress directly on your skin.
Compression
The third treatment you can do on your home for your shoulder inflammation is by the use of compression. To do this, prepare an elastic medical bandage. Start by wrapping the elastic medical bandage around your shoulder, this will help reduce the pain and swelling.
Take note, use a cold compression bandage, or a regular shoulder wrap will do, you can buy these at your local pharmacy. Remember to not wrap the shoulder wrap on your shoulder too tight, you don’t want to block the blood flow. If you notice that your arms and hands are numbing and slowly turning in a blueish color, you might want to loosen the wrap a little bit.
Heat Therapy
For the fourth treatment, you can try the cold compress’s alternative, the heat treatment or heat therapy. Heat treatment can help the tense muscles relax and soothe the stiff shoulder. Heat treatment can also help with muscle pain in the shoulder and arthritis.
To do a heat treatment, you can prepare a hot water bottle, wrap it up with a small towel and then apply it on the shoulder’s affected area. You can also use heating pads or heated gel packs, or a hot compress.
Just do not apply the hot compress directly on your skin or you will burn yourself, wrap it in a towel as well.
Muscle Relaxants
The fifth shoulder inflammation treatment is the use of muscle relaxants. When muscle tension and spasms are present around the shoulder joint, muscle relaxants may help ease the pain in the affected area. The most common muscle relaxants you can look up on are baclofen, cyclobenzaprine, and tizanidine.
Take note that you will need a doctor’s prescription before buying these medicines. Also, take note that does not intake muscle relaxants when you are driving or operating machinery as these medicines cause drowsiness.
Always seek GP advice before taking any medicines described in this section.
Pain Medication
The last treatment is pain medication. Pain medications like acetaminophen and aspirin can help ease the pain in your shoulder. This helps you deal with the injury and get better sleep as you recover.
Pain medications have side effects such as an upset stomach and heartburn. Consult a doctor if you are taking the medicines for longer than four weeks. You can also try topical pain-relief gels and creams, which don’t have the same side effects as oral pain meds.
The Best Treatment
When it comes to treatments, chiropractic therapy is the answer. It can target effectively many problems regarding your shoulder, plus the ability to relieve pain is also a plus point of such treatment.
In Falcon Health we provide the best chiropractic treatment. By doing our best in every task in treating our patients.
We hold on to our vision of providing a natural way of healing through chiropractic therapy.