Impingement syndrome: pain in the shoulder joint

If your shoulder hurts when you raise your arm, it may be due to impingement syndrome. Impingement syndrome is a so-called bottleneck syndrome in the shoulder joint. This causes pain because the head of the humerus hits part of the shoulder plate (acromion). This narrows the space for tendons and muscles and, therefore, hurts, especially during exertion and movement. If the symptoms persist for a long time, the tendons can even tear, referred to as a rotator cuff defect or rupture.

Impingement syndrome: Many names – one disease

There are several other technical terms for impingement syndrome, but they describe the same clinical picture. These include:

• Subacromial Syndrome
• subacromial bottleneck syndrome and
• subakromiales Impingement

 

Causes of pain in impingement syndrome

It is typical of the impingement syndrome that the symptoms, in particular the pain and restricted movement, are not preceded by an acute injury to the shoulder:

• On the other hand, there is often a long-term overload, for example, through sports such as badminton, swimming, throwing, or professional activities.
• This, in turn, can be the cause of an overload or dysfunction of the shoulder muscles, especially the rotator cuff.
• Another cause can be general age-related joint wear and tear, such as arthrosis.
• Another cause of the pain is a predisposition-related joint space that is already narrow, which promotes the occurrence of impingement syndrome.

Physiotherapy and medication for therapy

Impingement syndrome can be treated with medication on the one hand and physiotherapy with muscle strengthening and cold or heat treatments on the other. Cold relieves acute pain, and warmth relieves chronic pain.

In general, if the symptoms mentioned occur, it is recommended to consult a doctor before starting any self-therapy. Subsequently, if the diagnosis is made, exercises can be learned with the help of a physiotherapist and then continued at home.

It can help support the muscles by tapping the overworked muscles. However, the most essential treatment measures are usually strengthening exercises rehearsed through physiotherapy.

Impingement Syndrome: Shoulder surgery may be necessary

Suppose the pain is very severe and physiotherapy and active ingredients such as ibuprofen or paracetamol no longer help. Shoulder surgery may also be necessary in that case. However, about four out of five patients affected by impingement syndrome can be treated without shoulder surgery. With the help of exercises and physiotherapy, those affected can get the pain under control.

If an operation is necessary, a joint reflection is often sufficient to create enough free space in the joint space of the shoulder or to reconnect torn muscle tendons. In some cases, however, an open shoulder operation is also necessary.

Impingement exercises to strengthen the shoulder

We present two exercises for strengthening and stabilizing the shoulder muscles that can be carried out using a resistance band. The starting position is the same for both: stand comfortably with your feet about 20 cm apart.

1. Exercise against impingement syndrome:

1. Place the Thera-Band under your feet and hold the ends in your right and left hands hanging at your sides.
2. Then, move your arms sideways away from your body until they have reached about 90 degrees.
3. The direction in which the arms are led away from the body can be varied, at best a mixture between sideways away from the body and slightly offset forward in front of the body.
4. During the exercise, point your thumb up and stand up straight.
5. Then, go back to the starting position and repeat the exercise several times in a row.

2. Exercise against impingement syndrome:

1. Bring your arms horizontally so that your left upper arm, shoulders and right upper arm form a line.
2. Then, bend your arms at the elbow joint so that there is a 90-degree angle.
3. Hold this position and slowly count to ten.
4. After that, bring your hands down to relax, count to five, and start the exercise again.
5. Also, vary the direction your forearms point, for example, pointing straight up on the first pass, twisting 90 degrees to point straight ahead on the second pass, and pointing straight down on the third pass.