The first step will be to control your current pain. By its nature, pain inhibits muscle function so other exercises won’t be as effective unless this is at a manageable level. In the shorter term, your private physiotherapist at Circle Rehabilitation can do hands-on massage or manipulation to try to relieve some pain in the joint. You can also speak to your local pharmacist for advice on medication to manage the pain. Further tips and advice are in “What can I do at home to help?” section below.
The next step in your private treatment plan will be to get the muscles working correctly. When a muscle has been working through pain it often does not work as effectively or efficiently. The aim of the initial basic exercises is to retrain the muscles, and to reconnect the brain’s control centres with any parts of the muscles which aren’t functioning correctly. This usually won’t involve any weights or resistance bands at this point.
After this stage is complete, a private programme of targeted strengthening exercises will be recommended to help with your recovery. These are graded so you can gradually progress and build back up to activities such as racket sports. Resistance bands can be used to facilitate the muscles to work in the right way and also to strengthen them, but not every patient will necessarily need them.
For some more chronic conditions, your physiotherapist may recommend you are referred to see a private consultant orthopaedic shoulder surgeon. They may then recommend targeted injections or even surgical options, if other treatments haven’t been effective up until that point.