Perhaps you are used to exercising at the gym, and you may feel some pain in your shoulder the next day. Maybe you think this is normal, but the pain in your shoulder does not go away for a long time until you find that. In this case, the pain may be caused by a pulled muscle in the shoulder or a ligament tear.
In addition, shoulder pain can also be caused by muscle damage or tendons. When the muscle is pulled, this may damage some of the small blood vessels in the shoulder area. Sometimes bleeding and bruising occur around the injured shoulder.
Fortunately, some home remedies can effectively help you relieve your shoulder pain. This article will show you how to treat a pulled muscle in the shoulder at home.
Common Causes of Pulled Muscle in Shoulder
Your shoulder comprises many ligaments, tendons, and muscles, so different conditions can cause shoulder pain. Here are some of the possible conditions that you may have:
1. Muscle strain
Muscle strain is an injury that happens when you push your muscles past their limits. It can happen to anyone, no matter your age or level of activity. Muscle strain can happen when you lift something too heavy, exercise too vigorously, or don’t give your muscles enough time to recover after a workout. Unfortunately, muscle strain is often associated with very sharp and sudden pain, which can make it very hard to diagnose.
2. Labrum Tear
You would know if you have this problem if you find yourself unable to rotate your arm properly. You may feel that your shoulders are unstable and cannot do anything you usually do.
3. AC Joint Separation
This is the type of condition you would feel if your joints had some issues. If you feel pain when you are trying to raise your arms upwards or have trouble sleeping because of the pain, this may be the main culprit.
4. Frozen Shoulder
This is a condition also known as adhesive capsulitis. This condition usually gradually occurs when you do not realize it until such time when your shoulder is already frozen and you cannot move it at all.
Read:15 Easy Exercises and Stretches For Lower Back Pain Relief
Symptoms of Pulled Muscle in Shoulder
There are some common symptoms of pulled muscles in your shoulder.
- Pain when you are resting. Even if you are not doing anything, your shoulder still hurts.
- A weakness of the muscles. If you can’t easily lift something easy to lift before, it means that your shoulder muscles may be pulled.
- Inability to use the muscle at all. If the pulled muscle is severe, you may be unable to do anything.
- Some swelling appears near the area where the muscles hurt. You may also see some bruises and redness brought about by the injury.
If you experience some of the above symptoms, especially severe ones, please seek medical help immediately. The doctor can conduct a comprehensive examination and give a suitable treatment plan.
How to Get Rid of A Pulled Muscle In Shoulder at Home
You can try the following home remedies if the symptoms are relatively mild.
1. Ice Pack For Pulled Muscle In Shoulder
To stop the bleeding or the swelling of the blood vessels and the pulled muscle, you can try to use an ice pack treatment. Apply it to the shoulder area that hurts and wait about 10 minutes. The ice packs can help slow blood flow and relieve pain.
- Wrap some ice with a clean cloth and apply it to the skin.
- Remember never to place ice against your skin without any protective covering unless you want your skin to become frostbitten.
- Do this 2-3 times a day. Once again, never leave it on the skin for more than 10 minutes.
2. Rest
Rest may be the best treatment for a pulled muscle in the shoulder. This allows damaged cells in your body to repair themselves.
Try to choose a suitable resting environment to relax the whole body. This can help you get rid of the pain. If the condition is severe, you can take some medicine to relieve the pain after obtaining the doctor’s consent.
3. Protect the Muscle From Further Injury
At this point, you already know what has caused your muscles to become pulled or injured. Knowing what has caused it will make you want to avoid that same activity.
If you don’t want to cause more damage to your shoulders, ensure you don’t do anything that will further pull your muscles.
4. Add Compression to the shoulder
You can apply compression on the affected part of your shoulder and let it heal on its own. It may be a bit painful initially, but it will start to feel better after some time.
- Remove all constrictive clothing from the shoulder area.
- Use an elastic bandage to wrap around the shoulder area.
- Remember not to put the bandage too tightly because this may hurt you again.
5. Medications
In some cases, the pain may become unbearable. After consulting a doctor, you can take some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to relieve the pain in the pulled muscle.
- If you suffer from kidney disease or other related diseases, it is not advisable to take anti-inflammatory drugs because it will increase the burden on your body.
- Remember, you can also take some medicines, which only temporarily relieve the pain.
- When taking medication, follow the recommended guidelines.
6. Take Vitamin C
Do you realize that taking in vitamin C can reduce the pain brought about by pulled muscles? You can take Vitamin C once every day. Not only will this help eliminate the pain, but this can also improve your skin and hair’s overall condition.
7. Physical Therapy
If you have completed the above operations but still cannot move your shoulders normally or the pain worsens, you must seek a physical therapist.
The physical therapist will formulate some activities that can restore your shoulder strength. When looking for a suitable physical therapist, you must look for someone strongly recommended by your doctor. If you want to search by yourself, look up the online listing and read the reviews carefully.
If you want to take some medicine to relieve shoulder pain, please consult a doctor first. Remember that prevention is the best treatment. Before doing strenuous exercise, please warm up beforehand.
If you feel uncomfortable in your shoulders, stop exercising immediately, and rest appropriately. If the shoulder muscles have been strained, don’t do more exercises to avoid more damage.
