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Shoulder Injury

Labelled anatomy of the shoulder

Soft tissue injury of a shoulder

A soft tissue injury is an injury to the muscle, ligament or tendon. It is often caused by overstretching of the soft tissue which can be followed by pain, swelling and reduced movement. Full recovery from soft tissue injuries can take up to six weeks.

Do’s

  • For the first 24 hours rest the arm as much as possible.
  • If you were provided with a sling, you should wear it for 24 – 48 hours to help rest and prevent pain.  Remove the sling every 2 hours to move the joints that are not injured.
  • Keep your injured limb elevated on a pillow to help reduce swelling.
  • If you have swelling, apply ices packs (ice or frozen vegetables wrapped in a tea towel) for 10 minutes every 2 hours.
  • Take simple painkillers such as Paracetamol, which you can buy at the chemist. The A&E department can advise you on painkillers as well as our local pharmacy.
  • After 24 hours start to do the exercises below four times a day.

If your shoulder is not starting to improve after 7-10 days please self-refer to your local physiotherapy team if you are registered with a Gateshead, Newcastle or Durham GP or request your GP to refer you if you have a Sunderland GP, information can be found below:

If you are a registered patient of a Gateshead or Newcastle GP, the Tyneside Integrated Musculoskeletal Service (TIMS) will be your physiotherapy provider: https://www.tims.nhs.uk/

If you are a registered patient of Durham GP, the county Durham integrated MSK service will be your physiotherapy provider: https://patient.inhealthcare.co.uk/selfenrol/v2/form

If you are a registered patient of South Tyneside and Sunderland, the Sunderland integrated MSK service will be your physiotherapy provider: https://sunderlandims.co.uk/

Don’ts

  • Don’t apply ice directly on to skin – this can burn.
  • Avoid heavy lifting, sports and driving until your injury is completely recovered.
  • Do not wear any jewellery on your injured limb.

Shoulder exercises

  1. Shrug your shoulders
  2. Rotate your shoulders forward.
  3. Rotate your shoulders backwards.
  4. Stand sideways, leaning on a table with your good arm. Then let your injured arm hang down with your elbow straight:
    • Allow your injured arm to swing like a pendulum, backwards and forwards.
    • From side to side across the body.
    • Round in a circle – clockwise and anti-clockwise.
    • Do these gently at first, building up the movement a little at a time. These exercises should be carried out 20 times.
  5. Loosely fold your arms and lift them above your head – your good arm can be used to help your injured arm.
  6. Facing a wall stand about an inch away from it. Place both your hands flat against the wall at chest height. Slide your good arm and then your injured arm up the wall in steps.