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The Manual Touch Physical Therapy

Whole Body Approach

Reclaim movement, function and life
For information, call: 847-541-7600
or email: info@themanualtouch.com
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9 Tips to Avoid Shoulder Pain

July 10, 2018 By Denise Schwartz Leave a Comment

Betty had constant shoulder pain. Her shoulder hurt doing just about anything — opening doors, sleeping, putting on her seatbelt, and even while sitting in a movie theater. As Betty is 81 years old, she and her doctor did not want her to have surgery for her torn rotator cuff.

Betty came to therapy regularly for about four months. She received exercises and instructions on how to go about her life without aggravating her shoulder. At times during her therapy, we both thought she might need to have surgery. Thankfully, after 8 weeks of therapy she began to get progressively better until she became pain-free and was able to enjoy her life again. When I spoke to Betty a year after she left physical therapy, she was still doing great. Read Betty’s testimonial here.

After having shoulder pain for a year, Jodi, a 53 year old pediatric physical therapist, realized she could not get rid of her shoulder pain on her own. Sometimes even health professionals need an objective eye from another health professional to figure out what’s going on.

Being a pediatric physical therapist is a physically demanding job that can take its toll on your body. We assessed how Jodi used her body when working with kids and we found that Jodi was so good at stabilizing her core, keeping her body very rigid, that she was overusing her arms to assist her patients. I instructed her how to use her great core stability to her advantage in order to not overuse her arms. In addition, she was given exercises to integrate her body with her shoulder as well as manual therapy. Jodi is now back at work, doing yoga and weight lifting pain-free. Read Jodi’s testimonial here.

Shoulder pain can be quite debilitating as we use our arms all the time.

Shoulder-Anatomy

The primary shoulder joint is a connection between the shoulder blade (scapula) and arm bone (humerus) and can move in multiple directions, making it prone to injury as well as wear and tear.

The primary muscles that control shoulder movement is the rotator cuff, a group of 4 muscles that can easily be strained or torn. The upper back and core muscles act to stabilize your body so you can move your arm safely from a stable position.

Other common shoulder pain issues include:

  • Rotator cuff tear
  • Labrum tear
  • Dislocation or subluxing joint
  • Arthritis, degeneration, or spur
  • Frozen shoulder
  • Bursitis
  • Fracture of any of the bones

Things you can do to alleviate shoulder pain

Here are nine easy tips that will help you protect your shoulder from injury and prevent pain if you already have a shoulder issue.

1.  Pulling open a door – Hold your bent arm close to your body and step back instead of pulling with your arm

2. Pushing a door open – Hold your bent arms close to body, push door open stepping forward in order to use your body

3. Putting on a seatbelt – Hold your arms close to body, turn your body at your hips to reach for seatbelt, turn your body at your hips to the other direction, which will pull belt down towards buckle, push buckle in by bending at your hips to use your body to apply force through your arms.

4. Sleeping – Lay on whichever side doesn’t increase your pain, sleep with a pillow in front of you to hug with your arm.

5. Putting on a shirt or coat – Put the painful arm in the sleeve first.

6. Taking off a shirt or coat – Pull out pain-free arm first.

7. Reaching across a table – Rest arms on table, hinge at hips to reach with body and not through your shoulder.

8. Talking on the phone – Use a headset to avoid elbow, shoulder and neck pain.

9. Throughout your day – Avoid all movements that cause pain!

10 Shoulder Pain Tips PDF

Click here to download our PDF guide: 10 Tips for Shoulder Pain.

Want to take care of that shoulder pain so you can get back to doing the things you love to do? Give us a call at 847-541-7600 or email: info@themanualtouch.com.

Filed Under: Health & Wellness, Real Stories, Shoulder & Elbow Pain Tagged With: patient stories, shoulder pain

About Denise Schwartz

Denise Schwartz, PT, IMT, C is the owner of The Manual Touch Physical Therapy. For over 30 years, she has been helping patients reduce pain and improve quality of life using a whole body approach. Denise specializes in chronic pain, spinal conditions, running/triathlon injuries and prevention, balance/vestibular disorders, functional exercise, kinesiotaping, and various non-traditional and traditional & manual therapies. Contact Denise at denise@themanualtouch.com

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Testimonials

I chose Denise as my physical therapist because I needed a new approach to my chronic low back pain, hip & leg pain, & stiffness. Under Denise’s care, I have improved significantly. Now I’m more stable standing & I’m definitely more flexible. Denise provided various exercises & tools to increase my strength & to manage any pain that might arise. I am able to enjoy more activities like going downtown by train & cab to cultural events, activities that previously caused me pain for several days aft… Read more
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When I decided to try the Manual Touch instead of one of the larger therapy companies I was experiencing severe pain in my right arm.  My Physician had tried various methods to help me but after it was determined, by the use of a CT Scan, that I had a tear in my Rotator Cuff, he suggested I try P.T. before resorting to surgery. Because I had heard of very good outcomes from people that had used Denise’s wonderfully healing hands I felt this was the best place for me.  I was right.  She bega… Read more
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Denise is an excellent physical therapist. I was referred to her by another therapist, and I’ll be sticking with Denise Schwartz, now. I didn’t know if it would go well, or not but I actually look forward to this physical therapy process with her, after only two sessions. This is the best my elbow has felt in a year. Denise ‘gets it,’ if you will. You tell her your situation, she truly understands the problem, gets to work, and starts fixing the problem. She has, in fact, exercised herself…so… Read more
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I’ve been to several other PT’s but have never had as effective and long-lasting results as I experienced through Denise. While training for a 70.3 Ironman this year, I developed some debilitating hip and leg pains that made me question whether I would be able to race.  Denise quickly identified the problems and treated me over several sessions, which included going over exercises until I really understood what to do. Her patient, intuitive and knowledgeable style made a huge difference in … Read more
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The variations of exercises are great working the entire body to help my problems of balance.
Read More
As my fibro symptoms flare, my reliance on IMT and other forms of manual therapy Denise uses is crucial for me.  I spend time discussing with Denise what is happening, and no matter how weird it may sound to me, she can usually help me and/or explain to me other types of therapy I should look into to help.  I know my brain fog is gaining in severity, but it is very apparent to me that it would be much worse if I didn’t receive such good care from Denise at The Manual Touch.
Read More
I had recurring back and knee issues and thought I wouldn’t be able to race triathlons again.  Denise gave me exercises and encouraged me to sign up to compete. I was able to complete the triathlon and had my fastest run split in years.”  
Read More
Denise Schwartz is an amazing physical therapist! I work as a cocktail server for 10 hours every shift! And had a lot of lower back pain that was occurring half way during my time at work. After visiting Denise, my back pain at work completely went away! I really loved how she had an app I could use if I forgot the exercises we did. She was professional and you can tell she really cared about her clients. I Would definitely recommended going to her!”
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I was introduced to Denise in 2013 through the TogetherWeTri triathlon training group. Needless to say we had an instant respect for each other, being that we share a similar purpose and passion in life- helping others heal.  Through my own series of treatments with her I became very aware that the depth of her skills was not simply rooted in the study of the physical body and therapeutic exercises, but that she offered a deeper, more comprehensive opportunity to heal. As a clinical massage … Read more
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I came in to see Denise due to a cervical disc herniation.  I have been told by Illinois Bone & Joint that they refer patients to Denise often as she is able to help when other physical therapy programs fail.  That was definitely the case in my situation. I had 6 weeks of PT at another location but still was unable to turn my head fully or work at a desk without terrible pain.  After seeing Denise and following her exercise program, I was almost back to normal within a few short months.  I… Read more
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Our Mission


We believe all body systems and mental/emotional health are connected. We take a whole body approach to discover why patients are not healing and what were the initial causes of their current symptoms. 

Our mission is to use this whole body approach to help patients heal and overcome pain and limitations, resulting in improved quality of life. We also aim to promote wellness in our communities through ongoing education. 
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Testimonials

I chose Denise as my physical therapist because I needed a new approach to my chronic low back pain, hip & leg pain, & stiffness. Under Denise’s care, I have improved significantly. Now I’m more stable standing & I’m definitely more flexible. Denise … Read more
When I decided to try the Manual Touch instead of one of the larger therapy companies I was experiencing severe pain in my right arm.  My Physician had tried various methods to help me but after it was determined, by the use of a CT Scan, that I had… Read more
Denise is an excellent physical therapist. I was referred to her by another therapist, and I’ll be sticking with Denise Schwartz, now. I didn’t know if it would go well, or not but I actually look forward to this physical therapy process with her, af… Read more
I’ve been to several other PT’s but have never had as effective and long-lasting results as I experienced through Denise. While training for a 70.3 Ironman this year, I developed some debilitating hip and leg pains that made me question whether I… Read more
The variations of exercises are great working the entire body to help my problems of balance.
As my fibro symptoms flare, my reliance on IMT and other forms of manual therapy Denise uses is crucial for me.  I spend time discussing with Denise what is happening, and no matter how weird it may sound to me, she can usually help me and/or explai… Read more
I had recurring back and knee issues and thought I wouldn’t be able to race triathlons again.  Denise gave me exercises and encouraged me to sign up to compete. I was able to complete the triathlon and had my fastest run split in years.”  … Read more
Denise Schwartz is an amazing physical therapist! I work as a cocktail server for 10 hours every shift! And had a lot of lower back pain that was occurring half way during my time at work. After visiting Denise, my back pain at work completely went a… Read more
I was introduced to Denise in 2013 through the TogetherWeTri triathlon training group. Needless to say we had an instant respect for each other, being that we share a similar purpose and passion in life- helping others heal.  Through my own series o… Read more
I came in to see Denise due to a cervical disc herniation.  I have been told by Illinois Bone & Joint that they refer patients to Denise often as she is able to help when other physical therapy programs fail.  That was definitely the case in my situ… Read more
Read More

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The information provided on The Manual Touch Physical Therapy website is for personal and noncommercial use only. The resources and content provided should be used for educational purposes only and not as a substitute for appropriate medical care. If you are experiencing pain or discomfort please seek medical attention.