10 Proven Ways to Reduce Shoulder Pain

Shoulder pain is most likely to result from stress or overuse. While it’s important to consult your doctor if you experience a sudden increase in pain many of these conditions have no real treatment beyond rest and a good pain management strategy. Pain management can mean everything from immobilizing a joint to prevent pain, or using heat or ice to reduce inflammation and pain.

The following 10 pain-reduction tactics can be done at home and don’t take much of an investment. Not all of them will work for every type of shoulder pain, though choosing a few of these solutions can create a more effective pain-management strategy than any single tactic on its own.

How You Can Self-Treat For Shoulder Pain

When you have chronic pain, or even when you are recovering from a long-lasting injury, it’s important to effectively manage the pain while still living your life. Pain can lessen the joy of everyday things, or even make you avoid activities you used to find fun or fulfilling.

The following 10 tactics, if incorporated into your routine, may lessen the pain of a shoulder injury. Not only that, but none of the following tactics involve drugs, surgery, or any expensive equipment.

1. Apply Heat

A little heat applied to the area where you experience pain can help improve circulation and provide some relief. This is especially true if your pain is muscle-related. If the idea of holding a heat pack firmly to your shoulder for half an hour is unappealing, it’s possible to get a heated, adjustable shoulder wrap.

For bone-related pain or arthritis, applying moist heat can help the heat work into muscles faster and provide relief. This tactic is often used by physical therapists to relieve pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis.

2. Immobilize Your Shoulder

If you have torn a muscle, dislocated your shoulder, or have intense pain when moving your shoulder, a brace can provide an immediate reduction in pain. A brace can help support your joint, even as you use your arm throughout the day. This may prevent further injury and reduce overall healing time for shoulder-related injuries.

3. Use Compression to Reduce Inflammation

A shoulder brace with a compression feature can help reduce overall inflammation while supporting the joint and surrounding muscles. This may make it possible to recover sooner than you would with no immobilization or support at a standard activity level. Added heat or cold and rest can support this tactic.

4. Self Massage and Professional Massage

Massage, whether it’s self-massage following professional instruction or massage performed by a professional, has proven short-term effects and there is some evidence that this contributes to a long-term reduction in shoulder pain.

Massage works by increasing blood flow in muscles and improving range of motion. Pain tends to result in muscles stiffening up. This is especially true if the pain makes it so you don’t want to move your shoulder. Massage can be an easy way to condition muscles and lessen your pain over time.

5. Apply a Topical Analgesic

Many OTC analgesics are relatively inexpensive and can help relieve pain by calming the nerves in the area in which it is applied. In addition to the types of treatments found in a traditional pharmacy, peppermint essential oil is also a completely natural analgesic. As few as five drops diluted by a tablespoon of mineral oil or another neutral oil and applied to the shoulder can provide an immediate cooling sensation.

6. Ice Your Shoulder

For a true cooling sensation, ice packs may be used to calm inflammation. However, ice may not work as well for repetitive stress injuries or strained muscles as heat due to the nature of the injury. Tendonitis, for example, is a shoulder injury that responds well to cold treatment.

7. Watch Your Posture

Poor posture can cause shoulder pain by putting too much strain on certain muscles, or allowing your joints to fall out of alignment. Slouching, for instance, is a very common posture problem that can cause shoulder pain relatively quickly.

Not only can poor posture put excess pressure on the shoulders, but it can also weaken support muscles like the abs and glutes. These other muscles, with the proper posture and body mechanics, can help take some of the pressure off of your shoulders when you lift or carry objects as well.

8. Stretch to Improve Mobility and Treat Tight Muscles

Shoulder pain can result from sitting too often and poor posture as well as stress. In all of these situations, a light stretching routine can help reduce pain. Stretching can be compared to massage in how it can make your muscles feel better. Not only that, but stretching can improve mobility and even strengthen muscles and the surrounding tissue, helping prevent or lessen joint pain.

A physical therapist is the best first resource for what stretches you should do to improve your situation. Not every stretch will be able to be followed by every person with shoulder pain. This is especially true if you have or have had a torn shoulder ligament or muscle.

9. Take a Foam Roller Break

Shoulder pain resulting from poor posture can be a hard thing to fix as the new habits will take quite a while to stick. A great supporting strategy is to use a foam roller to “reset” your posture. Several floor positions and even wall positions can help you do this.

However, one of the most important things to remember when doing any type of foam-roller-based exercise is to keep your core tight. If you don’t do this, you may end up further stressing your back and shoulder muscles.

10. Maintain a Healthy Weight

While it may seem unrelated, an unhealthy weight, especially for men who tend to carry excess weight around their midsection, can increase shoulder pain. This is because the excess weight in this area can stress the abs, then the back and all of this excess stress can culminate around the shoulders and traps or trapezius muscles.

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