Alternative therapies and exercise

Physical Therapy is a beneficial way to help decrease pain in the soft tissues, restore atrophied muscles and improve shoulder strength and mobility. The type of physical therapy and the duration will be dependent on your injury.

Once your pain starts to diminish, a physiotherapist will also set up an individualized shoulder strengthening and stretching exercise program for you to perform at home or in the gym. This will be based on your needs and abilities, and will help you return to performing your normal routines. Individuals will often lift weights on their own, to try and build up their shoulder strength. However, in doing so, they can do more damage to their shoulder. It is extremely important to strengthen your muscles properly, as they may have weakened during the period of non-use. A trained therapist will help to ensure your rehabilitation process is effective. For best, long term results use ultrasound in conjunction with physical therapy and an exercise program.

Suggested Exercises

The Butterfly - hold a small weight or can of soup at your side. With elbows straight and thumbs point toward the floor, lift your arms to waist level and slowly lower them back. Repeat 5-15 times. Try to do two or three sets.

The Wall-Crawl - Stand with your injured shoulder about 2 feet from the wall. Gently 'walk' your hand up the wall as you keep your shoulders level. Hold for a moment, than come back down. Repeat 4 or 5 times.

The Rub-a-dub - Stand straight, with the back of your hand of you injured side against your back. With the other hand, throw a towel over our back and grab it with you hand behind the back. Pull gently on the towel with your 'good' arm, raising your injuring arm as high as you can without discomfort. Hold for 5 seconds, release slowly, and repeat 5-10 times.

During your recovery, you may have to modify and/or eliminate any activities that cause pain or discomfort in your shoulder area until your pain and inflammation settle, and you gain more mobility and strength in your shoulder. Often you will notice a great improvement within 6 to 12 weeks; however it can take months to return to normal. The more diligent you are with your rehabilitation, the faster you will see successful results.

How to Treat Bursitis in Your Shoulder

Relieving the symptoms of bursitis initially focuses on keeping the pressure off the bursa (i.e. carrying a backpack or purse on the opposite shoulder). Surgery may be required if your bursa irritation is a result of a bone formation problem, such as a hooked acromion causing impingement of the bursa. If your bursitis is caused by an infection (septic bursitis), the doctor will probably drain the bursa sac with a needle and prescribe antibiotics to treat the infection.

For non-infectious bursitis, the preliminary treatment starts with non-operative options such as ultrasound thereapy and cold therapy. Surgery to remove the inflamed bursa is normally not required for bursitis, however if you fail to see improvement with the conservative treatments, your physician may recommend surgery to remove the bursa completely. Although this removes the problem of an inflamed bursa, you are left with less cushioning in your rotator cuff which can lead to a host of other shoulder pain and problems.

The most important factor in healing bursitis is resting your shoulder. This can be difficult when you have to carry on with daily activities, but resting your shoulder whenever you can is recommended. During your recovery you will probably have to modify or avoid the activities that stress your bursa until your pain and inflammation settle.

Treatments should involve decreasing swelling, relieving stress on the shoulder, correcting any biomechanical dysfunction (hooked acromion, bone spur, etc.), treating scar tissue, and then restoring strength and movement in your shoulder.

Cold Compression Therapy

To decrease inflammation and relieve the pain of rotator cuff bursitis doctor's recommend cold therapy.

Applying cold to your inflamed bursa will help decrease the swelling and redness around it. Cold therapy will also help to numb the pain in your shoulder and rotator cuff and help to control the inflammation.

Cooling your inflamed bursa as needed throughout the day is recommended. Do not apply ice directly on your skin, rather wrap it in a cloth or towel or, better yet, use a cold wrap that fits easily and comfortably to your body.

The Shoulder Freezie Wrap^® has a supercharged cooling gel pack that chills in the fridge, not in the freezer like ice or other freezer packs, giving you deep cold therapy without the risk of 'cold burns' or cryoburn. It can be used to apply cold in a safe, convenient and effective way - and the gel pack is reusable.

The wrap is soft and adjustable so it fits your shoulder properly, without irritating the bursa, and allows you to adjust the compression. This is important when treating an inflamed bursa because too much pressure can cause you further pain. You control how much pressure the bursa receives so you can benefit from the compression to hold the cold where you need it, without increasing your pain.

Applying cold to your tender bursa and rotator cuff is the first step in treating your bursitis. Then begin ultrasound therapy to continue the healing process.

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Ultrasound Therapy

Ultrasound has been used by physical therapists and chiropractors for years to treat bursitis. By applying ultrasound therapy to your bursa you can reduce the inflammation caused by the fluid that has built up.

In addition, ultrasound therapy will treat any other soft tissue conditions that you may be experiencing in your rotator cuff such as supraspinatus tendinitis, impingement syndrome, and more. By treating yourself with ultrasound everyday, you are able to rid yourself of bursitis pain; this is best accomplished with a personal, therapeutic ultrasound device.

Scar tissue develops with bursitis and/or tendinitis. As your damaged tissues heal, this fibrotic tissue is naturally produced instead of forming brand new healthy tissue. Scar tissue adheres to your bursa sac, tendons, ligaments, and nerves causing pain and preventing them from moving properly (this limits your range of motion, flexibility and strength). However, ultrasound therapy can treat scar tissue. The more diligent you are with your treatment and rehabilitation, the faster you will see successful results.

Ultrasound therapy is a great therapeutic option to decrease inflammation, pain and scar tissue build up experienced with bursitis and other soft tissue injuries. The treatment is easy, painless, and generally requires between 10 - 15 minutes of your time. It is based on a form of deep thermal therapy which is generated through high frequency sound waves that reach into the cells of the tissue. These sound waves help to reduce the fluid build up in the bursa, heal any tissue damaged through trauma, and reduce scar tissue.

Using the MendMeShop^® Lavender Infusion Gel during your ultrasound therapy gives you 2 therapies in 1. You get the benefit of the regenerating sound waves from the ultrasound device itself AND the added bonus of the therapeutic ingredients inside the gel being delivered into the tissue where it is most effective.

Lavender Infusion Ultrasound Gel contains the natural essential oils of Bulgarian lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus, and menthol and is exclusively available from MendMeShop^®. These ingredients reduce inflammation, relieve pain and improve blood circulation to your rotator cuff bursae. 1 bottle of MendMeShop^® Lavender Infusion Ultrasound Gel comes FREE with every MendMeShop^® Ultrasound System so you get unbeatable ultrasound therapy for your bursitis.

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Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy

Once the inflammation of your bursitis has been reduced with cold therapy and ultrasound treatments it is time to improve blood flow and improve the elasticity of your surrounding soft tissue. Your body needs a fresh supply of blood to improve the health of your tissue and get your bursae and rotator cuff tendons healthy again.

Unfortunately, when you are suffering from bursitis it is painful to lift your arm and use you shoulder. When you limit movement in your shoulder the blood flow is reduced, starving your tissue of the necessary oxygen and nutrients.

The trick is to find a way to increase blood flow without causing pain and/or further inflaming the bursae. This is where Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy (BFST^®) becomes a powerful tool. BFST^® compliments your body's natural healing process by promoting the flow of blood to your shoulder while you give it the rest it needs.

The Shoulder Inferno Wrap^® uses a patented process to generate the same energy that is part of the sun's spectrum of light, the same energy that is necessary to all living things for optimum health. The energy emitted from the Energy Web^® stimulates blood flow to your rotator cuff, more than your body would ever be able to generate on it's own, giving your body the boost it needs to continue the reconditioning process. The healing energy reaches deep into your shoulder bursae and rotator cuff tendons to speed tissue repair, whisk away the toxins and dead cells, and rejuvenate your rotator cuff tissues for improved elasticity.

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With these 3 easy therapies you will notice significantly reduced pain and an incredible improvement in your rotator cuff range of motion.

We recommend that you consult your doctor and/or physiotherapist before using any of our outstanding products, to make sure they're right for you and your condition.

Pain and Anti-inflammatory

(NSAIDs - Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) can be used if required to help manage your pain. However, these aren't recommended for long term use, as they can cause gastrointestinal difficulties and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. The use of cold therapy, ultrasound and BFST^® in conjunction with NSAIDs can greatly improve the effect of this medication and can help to heal quicker.

Surgical Procedures

Your doctor may aspirate the inflamed bursa. This involves removing the extra fluid that has built up with a needle. Sometimes, the fluid will be tested at a laboratory to rule out infection.

If your bursitis does not get better with conservative treatments, a subacromial decompression may be done. It is an arthroscopic procedure, so tine incisions are made and a pencil-sized camera is inserted into the shoulder. A small shaver is inserted into another incision, and is used to remove the swollen bursa all together. The surgeon will then look for any damage to the rotator cuff. If the subacromial space is small, the surgeon may use a burr to shave the acromion down in order to create more space for the rotator cuff tendons. This is also done to remove any bone spurs in the shoulder.

Recovery time for the surgery will depend a number of different factors including your healing ability, diet, rest and how many procedures were done in your surgery. Your doctor will advise you on your recovery, and will let you know if/when physical therapy can be started.

Please be aware that this information is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider before starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

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