Shoulder Pain

Shoulder pain can be unbearable, and can force you to change everything from the way you sleep, to how you carry things, even ending your favorite sporting activities like golf, tennis or baseball.

Causes of shoulder pain

The shoulder is the most unstable joint in the body, but unless you just suffered an injury, shoulders shouldn’t hurt. If you’ve recently been injured, consult a physician.  However, if your shoulder was never injured, and you haven’t injured your neck or upper back where the spine protects the sensitive spinal nerves controlling the shoulder and arm, you are likely experiencing the effects of posture adaptation.

Usually related to weak or poor posture, postural shoulder pain is a common and often painful problem from constantly working to control and use your hands as you balance your shoulders on your torso. Repetitive movements or positioning caused at work (computing to painting), or by sports that require weight bearing or full range movement like golf, hockey, dancing, tennis or baseball – to name a few- even becoming a new parent and suddenly carrying the load of a new baby, diaper bag and carrier can cause an onset of shoulder pain, arm pain, elbow pain and even hand pain.

 5th Posture Principle: Adaptation: Changes In Posture and Motion Cause the Body to Change

Shoulder pain is often positional, this means that it gets better, worse or changes as your body position changes. You move, your shoulder hurts, so you try to modify the way you move so that it doesn’t hurt. This doesn’t mean you’re cured or even pain-free; it means you’ve limited your choice of movements – your body’s chain of motion—to a smaller range of options. Over time, shoulder posture distortions cause more pain and breakdown (arthritis, Degenerative Joint Disease) in the spine and other joints from the stress of unbalance daily wear & tear.

In time, compensation to avoid pain requites you to adapt further until there’s only one way you can move without causing pain – or you don’t move the shoulder at all. And then even that goes away and it hurts regardless of what you do, sitting, sleeping, everything becomes painful.

Episodes of shoulder pain may come on after over-activity or without apparent cause, and is triggered as body adapts to mechanical stress, weak posture and inefficient motion. 

  • Leaning over a computer or mobile device typing for hours each day
  • Contorting to hold the wheel when driving for long periods
  • Chronic posture stress such as holding a phone to your ear, carrying a heavy backpack, handbag
  • Becoming a new parent and suddenly carrying a child, carrier, diaper bag daily
  • Sleeping in an awkward position
  • Shoulder pain when playing golf, tennis, baseball, hockey or other sports


The mechanical stress from these activities, week after week, forces your body to change in response to the unnatural stresses you’re placing on it.  Shoulders can handle lots of stress.  However, when you only use them in limited but repetitive ways some muscles become tight from overwork while partner muscles atrophy from lack of use.  Ligaments connecting the arm to the upper torso stiffen and restrict joint movement.  And one day you wake up with aching shoulders feeling like you’ve pitched a baseball for nine long innings, or you shouldn’t have played that back nine.

Maybe you can’t change your job or hobbies, but you can change your habits and posture environment.

Self Help Shoulder Pain Relief

If your job requires you to use a computer all day, you have to drive long hours, or your not giving up your sports,  what can you do?  The secret is to you move and exercise your muscles in the full range of motion, so everything gets worked and everything gets strong.  If you spend most of your day with your arms raised in front of you (typing, driving, etc.), be sure to do exercises that bring your arms out to the side, down against your legs, and up above your head.

  • Begin doing posture exercises: The Strong Posture exercise program is designed to get you moving full-range with counter stretches (moving in the opposite direction your daily life requires), improving posture, body alignment, control, balance and strength. The bonus – your golf game will improve!
  • Get relief from pain with a topical while you integrate exercise, and make environmental changes.
  • Work towards symmetry: Keep your head tall and centered over your body, your shoulders back, relaxed down, and chest open.
  • Change positions often: Adjust your chair or car seat when sitting for long periods. Change your body position, supporting leg, or hand you reach with when doing repetitive activities. Alternate which arm you use to carry packages, or a child!
  • Move your body: Take frequent posture breaks and stretch, walk and move.

Best Sleeping Position for Shoulder Pain
Sleeping with should pain can be difficult, try this:

Note: Avoid regular use of aspirin, NSAIDs (Advil, Ibuprofen, etc.) and over the counter pain medication to avoid stomach, liver and kidney damage associated with frequent use of these drugs. 58% of people using NSAIDs more than 3 months have ulcers. NSAIDs cause 103,000 hospitalizations and 16,500 deaths/year (Wall Street Journal, 10/2006). Try Topicals for pain relief and use alternating hot and cold compresses (15-20 minutes) to relax tight muscles and relieve pain (consult your physician first)

Find a posture specialist to evaluate your posture and shoulder pain.


Site Disclaimer & Health Note : Always consult a professional if pain is severe or persists over two weeks. If there is no trauma and pain initially begins in the chest, if the pain is not affected by motion, or if there is fever, nausea, vomiting, uneven pulse, anxiety, a sick feeling, burning urination, loss of bowel or bladder control, or severe pain, call your Physician immediately.

See Posture Science for more on body compensation, adaptation, posture distortion and motion patterns.
Conditions related to shoulder pain: Rotator cuff syndrome, Shoulders bicipital tendonitis, bursitis, golf injuries, tennis elbow, pitchers elbow, baseball injuries, arthritis, carpa tunnel syndrome, impingement syndromes, joint dysfunction, nerve entrapment syndromes, performance care, post surgical adhesions, repetitive strain injuries, scar tissues formation, postural shoulder muscle strain; pinched nerve in neck; cervico-brachial syndrome.

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