So what should I be doing? 6 Tips For Sore Shoulders
Here are some simple, effective, but often overlooked tips to address your underlying tissue damage so you can reverse shoulder injuries once and for all:
1. Stop treating symptoms
Especially with painkillers like ibuprofen. Anti-inflammatory drugs mask the problem, so you can end up hurting your shoulder even more.
They also damage the cell walls of joint and connective tissue so they are actually weakening the cartilage, ligaments and tendons supporting your shoulder.
2. Understand why you hurt
Where it hurts isn’t neccesarily where the problem started. Your sore shoulder might be caused by tightness in a surrounding muscle group.
Tight pecs, lats and even forearms can be the root cause of shoulder problems.
If you’re focussing on where it hurts, you might be missing the big picture. Try and find the problem.
3. Mobilise with purpose
The reason to mobilise is to take the pressure off your injured shoulder, not to pound it into submission.
Stretch and loosen surrounding muscle groups to relieve tightness and create slack in the system. So there’s less tissue damage in the future.
Aim to get your injured shoulder in a good position and promote healing through increasing blood flow so more nutrients can get to your damaged tissues.
4. Hydration is a quick fix
You’re probably aware that even slight dehydration can affect mood, concentration and athletic performance.
With cartilage, tendons and ligaments being up to 85% water – how much water you drink has a huge effect on your joint health.
It affects the elasticity and strength of your joint tissues, their ability to slide and glide, as well as the health of the actual joint capsule.
Drinking more water can actually improve your existing cartilage, tendons and ligaments improving your shoulder health pretty quickly – as long as you’re able to absorb it.
A nutrient called chondroitin sulfate is used by the body to draw water into cartilage and connective tissue.
5. Are you healing effectively?
Joint and connective tissues are unique in the body. They naturally heal far more slowly than muscle and other tissues.
Your joints rely on two key types of nutrient – chondroitin and glucosamine – your body makes both of these really slowly. Slower the older we get ??
These two nutrients are used to build new cartilage, tendons and ligaments. Slow tissue breakdown. Hydrate and nourish existing tissues. Plus they are natural anti-inflammatories (without the negative side effects of ibuprofen).
If weak, damaged tissues are causing your shoulder problems then a glucosamine and chondroitin joint supplement is worth considering to provide building blocks for your body to naturally heal.
6. No rest days
Unless you’ve torn or broken something keeping an injury immobile is a bad idea.
Your first priority should, of course, be to not aggravate or do any further damage to your already injured tissues.
Moving your shoulder will prevent it from tightening up and can increase blood flow and nutrient transfer to injured tissues to promote healing.
