Shoulder pain exercises · Chapel Hill
Shoulder exercises haven’t helped? Look beyond your shoulder.
If stretching and strengthening haven’t helped, the next step is understanding what your shoulder needs—not simply adding more repetitions.
Clinical insights from Dr. Derek Nielsen, PT, DPT, owner of Royal Pain Physical Therapy.
What happens when you reach, lift, or exercise?
Notice which activities hurt and what else feels stiff or restricted:
- Reaching overhead or lifting weights brings on pain.
- Reaching behind your back is painful or limited.
- Sleeping on your shoulder interrupts your rest.
- Your neck or upper back feels stiff, even if it isn’t painful.
These symptoms don’t tell you exactly what’s causing the problem, but they give us more to investigate.
At Royal Pain, we assess your shoulder along with your neck and upper back. We treat what may be contributing, then recheck the painful movement to guide a plan for reaching, exercising, and sleeping with less pain.
The same symptom doesn’t mean the same problem.
One person may need more shoulder mobility. Another may need strength. Someone else may need us to address a stiff neck or upper back. The exercise that helps one shoulder may not address what another needs.
At Royal Pain, we assess first to understand what your problem needs—then check your response to guide treatment toward lasting relief.
How Royal Pain finds your starting point.
Your symptoms, movement, and treatment response guide the plan—including what you can do on your own for pain relief.
Assess first.
At Royal Pain, we examine the movement that hurts and use a hands-on assessment to look for what may be contributing to your pain.
Treat and recheck.
We treat what we believe is contributing, then repeat the painful movement to check whether your symptoms improve. Your response guides what we do next.
Build on the response.
We use what helps to guide your treatment and show you what to do at home—so you can build on the relief and address what’s contributing to your pain.
A closer look at shoulder pain.
Learn how Royal Pain approaches shoulder pain, including concerns about rotator cuff tears, arthritis, and labrum tears.
Shoulder pain care at Royal Pain
Not ready to book an appointment yet?
Get a free copy of Pain Is a Royal Nuisance and discover a process for addressing what may be keeping you in pain—without relying on medication or surgery.
Understand your options before deciding.
Talk with Dr. Nielsen about your shoulder pain, what you’ve tried, and where he would start based on your symptoms.