What is shoulder impingement?

Shoulder impingement is often the main cause of pain around the shoulder joint.

Around 60% of patients we see in clinic with shoulder pain, are suffering with shoulder impingement syndrome.

Shoulder impingement occurs when one of the rotator cuff tendons becomes inflamed (largened) and rubs on another tendon, the bursa (sac of fluid) or the acromiam (bone in the shoulder).

Shoulder impingement can also occur when shoulder posture is poor. Poor shoulder positioning (posture) can cause the sub acromial space to narrow. If the space narrows, there is less room for the tendons to pass through. This can lead to the tendons rubbing, causing inflammation and pain.

3 signs of shoulder impingement are:

🔥 Pain on the top of the shoulder and outside of the upper arm.
🔥 Pain when lifting your arm out to the side.
🔥Pain at night in bed when lay on the shoulder. 

Shoulder impingement can be effectively treated with postural exercises aiming to open the subacromial space, and physiotherapy aiming to reduce the inflammation and pain, while returning the shoulder to normal function.

Once the shoulder is improving and the pain is reducing, it is important to work on specific strengthening exercises to ensure the issue doesn’t reoccur .