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Home Remedies For Shoulder Pain: Procedure, Recovery, Risk & Complication

Last Updated: Mar 25, 2024

What is the remedy about?

Shoulder Pain is one of the most common problems. In young children to the grandparents, it can happen in any muscles or ligaments around the shoulder region and cause pain. The causes of Shoulder Pain are manifold. It is generally believed that people who work for hours in front of computer or laptop are more prone to shoulder pain. Overusing smartphones and tablets, injury of soft tissues present in your shoulder area, arthritis, spinal cord injuries, etc. cannot be neglected from the list of causes too. Treat your Shoulder Pain with the following quick home remedies and get that pain off your shoulder. The simplest hack is using a Cold or Hot Compress. Compresses are ancient tricks to alleviate any muscle pain. Cold Compressions help to numb the affected area and get rid of inflammation. On the other hand, Hot Compression is equally beneficial as it makes the blood flow smooth and lowers the accumulated fluid in the affected region. For cold therapy, you can wrap an ice pack in a cotton cloth and start using it immediately after the injury for 15 minutes every 4-5 hours. Discontinue this after 3 days. For heat therapy, you can use warm towels, hot water bottles wrapped in a washcloth, or hot packs for 20 minutes every 4 hours. Be cautious while using heat pads and don't fall asleep with a heating pad or ice pack. Remember to wait for 3 days after the injury to begin with the heat therapy. Other remedies include Epsom Salts and Ginger. Magnesium Sulfate in Epsom Salts is what helps to improve blood circulation relieving Shoulder Pain. Soak your body for 20 minutes in hot water bath with two cups of Epsom Salts thrice a week to recover. Ginger has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties which boost the healing process. Drink a glass of simmering water with a half teaspoon of Ginger and watch the results of this decoction.

Are there any side effects?

Every remedy has an effect along with a side-effect if not used properly. Yes, there might be some side-effects depending on the application. While using heat or cold treatments, it is essential for you to be cautious about the duration of usage. For heat therapy, you cannot just start using it immediately after the injury as it will increase the inflammation and will have alternating actions. Also, if the area is still swollen even after 3 days, skip using Hot Compression. Make sure the heat is suitable and bearable for you otherwise you will get blisters, burns, and even increased swelling on your shoulder. For cold therapy as well, your concentration should be sharp while using. Extending the duration will cause frostbite especially if the ice pack is not wrapped in a cloth. You may also suffer from blood vessels constriction. You should start your treatment firstly with cold therapy followed by heat therapy and not the other way round. Soaking in an excessive amount of Epsom Salts for too long may cause you dizziness, increased or decreased heartbeats, skin infection, low blood pressure, weakness, vomiting, and drowsiness. People with skin sensitivity might develop major skin irritations due to the harmful exposure of Epsom Salts. This might also cause you Diarrhoea as Magnesium Sulfate has a laxative effect. Pregnant and nursing women should not opt for this method due to medical reasons. Similarly, Ginger may induce a heartburn, stomach discomfort and mouth or throat irritation. Studies have shown that intake of Ginger more than the moderate level keeps you awake. This will disturb your sleeping cycle hence mark the demarcation properly. In other words, it can be said that all of these remedies might give you unfavorable results if you don't use it wisely.

What are the post-remedy guidelines?

You should always abide by a set of post remedy guidelines for keeping the cured issue away. Here, you need to focus on the causes which caused you Shoulder Pain in the first place. Working for hours in the office or at home in front of your PC or laptop has to be taken care of. Desk works are tedious and energy draining. But did you know that desk working for prolonged amount of time is the sole reason behind your unbearable muscle pain on the shoulder? Hence, take this into account and learn to give yourself a break. Take a brief break during every one hour of work. Keep your posture straight and don't lean forward too often. Adopting posture and related lifestyle changes have to be started immediately after the procedure.

How long does it take to recover?

Shoulder Pain may vary from person to person. Similarly, the duration of recovery may vary from person to person too. If you are suffering from critically adverse pain, it might take as long as 6 weeks to recover. Such pain may arise from any injury caused in past or prolonged computer working at a stretch. Implementing the remedies will definitely help you get better within a week if the pain is mild and recent. Taking the proper and right step will help you recover faster but not if you continue inviting the causes of the pain simultaneously. So, stick to the list of "do's and "don'ts" strictly.

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Are the results of the remedy permanent?

Nothing can be permanently removed unless you stop it from coming back again. Remedies are a few solutions to fight out a particular problem and it might not ensure absolute removal of the problem. This is because the recurrence depends on your lifestyle more than anything else. So, better start improving your activities like sitting posture, working duration, taking breaks, etc. to block the pain from coming back. Also, try doing different kinds of free hand exercises to prevent further Shoulder Pain.

Is there any training or experts required?

Experts or training are not essential for removing Shoulder Pain. Practice shoulder exercises at home regularly in the morning or evening. Start with the easier ones then slightly move on to the pro level. This will keep your muscles fit and healthy. Avoid improper movement of shoulder muscles. Keep your shoulder placed in a right way or don't sleep in a way so that your shoulder receives spasm. Massaging will keep you away from muscle pain besides. You may also check with your doctor for advice in this regard and pursue at home.

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Written ByDr. Sidharth Verma PDCC - Pain Management,MD - Anaesthesiology,DNB Anaesthesiology,MBBSOrthopaedics

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