Shoulder pain

Common shoulder problems

Rotator cuff pain is the most common: the tendons around the shoulder complain with overhead reaching, lying on that side, and lifting. It often builds gradually rather than after one moment.

Frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis) is a distinct problem with its own timeline: stiffness that worsens over months, then slowly improves, often in people in their forties and fifties and more common with diabetes. Impingement-type pain, a pinch when reaching overhead, and instability after a dislocation are the other common patterns. Each has a different plan, which is why the assessment comes first.

What an assessment involves

The assessment looks at the story, when it started, what you cannot do, whether it wakes you at night, and then tests the shoulder’s movement and strength in specific positions. We are looking for which structure is complaining and what the shoulder is compensating with.

You leave with a working explanation and a plan: hands-on treatment where it helps, a progressive loading programme for the cuff and the shoulder-blade muscles, and a clear rule for what to avoid while it settles.

Can massage help shoulder pain?

Massage can ease the tension around a sore shoulder, the upper back and neck muscles that guard the joint, and many people find it helps them move more comfortably. It does not treat the rotator cuff tendon or a frozen capsule itself.

If your shoulder pain is new after a fall, or the joint looks deformed, that is urgent care, not a clinic appointment. Otherwise, start with the assessment; massage can support the recovery around it.

Shoulder or arm pain that can be a heart symptom

Pain in the left shoulder or either arm that arrives with chest pressure, breathlessness, sweating, nausea or feeling faint can be a heart symptom, not a joint problem. Call emergency services. Do not book physiotherapy and wait. The same applies if shoulder pain is new, severe, and unlike your usual ache, especially with those other symptoms.

When to seek urgent care instead

Go to accident and emergency, or call emergency services, if you have a suspected broken bone, a joint that looks deformed, pain after a significant fall, chest pain, trouble breathing, a head injury with confusion or vomiting, numbness in the saddle area, or loss of bladder or bowel control. Sudden severe pain with swelling, or a limb that is cold, pale or blue, also needs urgent medical care rather than a clinic appointment.

If you are unsure, do not wait on a message to decide an emergency. Use emergency services first. For everything else, contact the clinic, say what happened, and we will tell you whether we can see you and what to do until then. We do not diagnose by WhatsApp.

How the clinic can help

A consultation and assessment with Andrew George, our lead physiotherapist, is €55, and follow-up physiotherapy is €45. The assessment looks at the movement that hurts and the cause behind it, and you leave with a working explanation in plain language and a plan that fits the week you actually have.

Where massage helps alongside physiotherapy, for tension, recovery and the guarded muscles around a sore area, the clinic houses qualified massage therapists in the same building. Massage and physiotherapy are not interchangeable: if pain, injury or a change in movement is the concern, start with the assessment.

Book through the contact form, by phone on 2152 4199, or by WhatsApp on 7924 1880. There is no online booking calendar; describe your symptoms and the team will help you choose the right first appointment.