Oxford Shoulder Academy

🎯 Trigger Points in the Trapezius: The Hidden Culprit Behind Neck, Shoulder & Back Pain 🎯

Did you know that trigger points in the trapezius muscle are often the simple but overlooked cause of:
Neck pain (thanks to upper trap triggers)
Shoulder pain
Mid-back discomfort (lower trap triggers)?

💥 Common Causes:
Poor posture (hello, desk work and screen time! 📱💻)
Carrying heavy bags or loads
Stress and tension (those shoulders creeping up to your ears!)
Repetitive motions (like sports or work-related tasks)

🛠️ Why It’s Easy to Address:
For trained therapists, identifying and treating these trigger points is often straightforward:
✅ Upper traps: Look for tender knots in the neck and shoulder area.
✅ Lower traps: Check between the shoulder blades for tight, sore spots.

Applying trigger point therapy, gentle stretching, and posture education can bring fast relief! 🙌

If you’re experiencing persistent neck or back pain, it might be time to explore this simple but effective approach. Therapists, are these trigger points on your radar? Let us know in the comments! 👇

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We frequently apply kinesio tape after treatment sessions for clients with frozen shoulder. While the tape’s physiological benefits, such as improved circulation and reduced pain, are well-documented, there’s another effect I’ve noticed: the confidence it gives clients.

Frozen shoulder often comes with a fear of movement. Clients worry that any attempt to move their shoulder will worsen the pain or cause further injury. Taping provides a sense of support and security, as if the tape is “holding everything together.” This feeling encourages them to keep moving their shoulder—an essential part of recovery.

Calcific shoulder, also known as calcific tendonitis, is a painful and often frustrating condition that primarily affects the rotator cuff tendons within the shoulder.

This condition occurs when calcium deposits build up in the tendons, typically in the supraspinatus tendon, leading to pain, inflammation, and restricted movement. Calcific shoulder can be confusing to manage and diagnose, especially because its symptoms often overlap with other shoulder conditions, such as frozen shoulder and rotator cuff tears. In this article, we dive deeply into what calcific shoulder is, explore its symptoms, stages, treatment options, and discuss both traditional and alternative therapies, including massage and manual therapy approaches.

Calcific Tendinopathy (CT) of the Shoulder Calcific shoulder, also known as calcific tendonitis, is a painful and often frustrating condition that primarily affects the rotator cuff tendons within the shoulder. This condition occurs when calcium deposits build up in the tendons, typically in the supraspinatus tendon, leading to pain, inflamm...

Frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, is a condition that can be difficult to navigate, both for the client experiencing it and the therapist working to relieve it. When someone comes to us with frozen shoulder, they are often dealing with frustration, confusion, and, of course, pain. This condition, which impacts not only shoulder mobility but also quality of life, typically unfolds in three phases: freezing, frozen, and thawing. Each phase has unique characteristics, symptoms, and treatment approaches. With a well-rounded understanding of each stage and the best strategies for addressing them, we can help clients get through frozen shoulder as smoothly as possible.

The Three Phases of a Frozen Shoulder Frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, is a condition that can be difficult to navigate, both for the client experiencing it and the therapist working to relieve it. When someone comes to us with frozen shoulder, they are often dealing with frustration, confusion, and, of course, pain. This condit...

As manual therapists, we often find that trigger points in the deltoid muscle can be a surprising source of shoulder pain and limited movement. The deltoid is our main “mover” muscle for the shoulder, helping with almost every arm movement we make. But when it develops trigger points—often due to overuse, repetitive strain, or poor posture—pain can radiate down the arm, making even simple tasks uncomfortable.

In our experience, treating these trigger points involves a combination of gentle manual therapy, targeted stretching, and sometimes even adjusting daily habits to prevent further strain. Many clients don’t realize that shoulder pain doesn’t just come from the rotator cuff or scapula muscles; the deltoid can be a prime culprit too. Keeping this muscle healthy and relaxed goes a long way in maintaining shoulder function and comfort.

Anyone else dealt with deltoid trigger points? Feel free to share experiences or questions!

If you or someone you know has dealt with frozen shoulder (or adhesive capsulitis), you know how limiting and painful it can be. Frozen shoulder causes pain, stiffness, and a restricted range of motion in the shoulder joint, often taking months or even years to resolve. While physical therapy and other treatments play essential roles in managing frozen shoulder, one lesser-known but highly effective method is trigger point therapy.

In this article, we’ll explore the role of trigger points in frozen shoulder, take a closer look at the insights from Drs. Janet Travell and David Simons, the pioneers in trigger point research, and discuss how trigger point therapy can be an invaluable tool in managing this condition.

Trigger Point Therapy for Frozen Shoulder If you or someone you know has dealt with frozen shoulder (or adhesive capsulitis), you know how limiting and painful it can be. Frozen shoulder causes pain, stiffness, and a restricted range of motion in the shoulder joint, often taking months or even years to resolve. While physical therapy and ot...

Are you suffering from a loss of power in your shoulder?

Supraspinatus is one of the key muscles involved in shoulder problems, partly because of its anatomical position and partly because of the degenerative changes in the tendon caused by both overload and ‘under load’ (a modern issue). It is part of the rotator cuff continuum, which comprises of supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis. The rotator cuff helps to centre the head of the humerus in contact with the glenoid cavity (fossa, socket) of the scapula during movements of the shoulder, thus helping to prevent dislocation of the joint. Suprapspinatus tendon is vulnerable to a number of injuries and its incidence increases with age. Tendonitis should be treated like a fracture but generally the Supraspinatus responds well to trigger point therapy, self help and stretching, it is a key muscle in the NAT algorithm.

INDICATIONS - Loss of power in abduction, painful arc syndrome, night pain/ ache, subacromial bursitis, rotator cuff tendinopathy, deep aching in shoulder which can extend to elbow (i.e. tennis elbow) and occasionally to thumb side of wrist, can be confused with De Quervain’s tenosynovitis, pain on initiation of lifting shoulder sideways, inability to reach behind back, moderately restricted range of shoulder motion, clicking/snapping sounds in shoulder joint, frozen shoulder syndrome.

CAUSES - Carrying heavy objects (e.g. bags, laptops, suitcases) over long distances, heavy lifting from floor to trunk of car, carrying with arms above head, sleeping positions with arms above head, dogs pulling on leash, falls on outstretched arm (e.g. skiing), washing/combing hair, moving heavy furniture, repetitive strain injury (RSI), prolonged computer keyboard use.

Learn more: www.frozenshoulder.com

Shoulder tendon tears are among the most common injuries, especially in athletes, older adults, and anyone who performs repetitive overhead movements. These injuries can be painful, restrictive, and challenging to manage without proper care. Fortunately, not every tendon tear requires surgery. In fact, there are many effective conservative treatments that can reduce pain, improve mobility, and, in some cases, help the shoulder heal naturally.

In this article, we dive into the nature of shoulder tendon tears, the types of tears, and explore conservative treatment options that focus on recovery without surgical intervention.

Shoulder Tendon Tears Shoulder tendon tears are among the most common injuries, especially in athletes, older adults, and anyone who performs repetitive overhead movements. These injuries can be painful, restrictive, and challenging to manage without proper care. Fortunately, not every tendon tear requires surgery. In fa...

Shoulder Pain?

Sub acromial impingement is a fairly common condition. It can be hellishly painful and often causes shoulder stiffness; for this reason it is often confused with or misdiagnosed as a frozen shoulder.

Seek help from your manual therapist or click on the link to learn more.

What is Subacromial Impingement? Subacromial impingement, also known as shoulder impingement syndrome, is a condition that affects countless people—athletes, desk workers, and those of us simply navigating daily life. If you or your clients have ever experienced sharp pain or a nagging ache in the shoulder, especially when liftin...

if you have diabetes, your chances of getting frozen shoulder jump up significantly – in fact, people with diabetes are up to five times more likely to experience this condition than those without. We dive into why that’s the case, what the research says, and how diabetes might change your approach to managing frozen shoulder.

Frozen Shoulder and Diabetes: What’s Really Going On? If you've ever dealt with frozen shoulder, or know someone who has, you know just how frustrating it can be. Known medically as adhesive capsulitis, frozen shoulder is marked by stiffness, pain, and a serious reduction in shoulder movement. The condition tends to show up in three stages: pain, stiff...

Frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, is a condition where the shoulder joint becomes painfully stiff and loses its range of motion over time. While it’s common knowledge that frozen shoulder affects more women than men, it might be surprising to learn just how often it’s linked to menopause. We dive into this lesser-known connection between frozen shoulder and menopause, and explore what recent research, international surveys, and anecdotal reports reveal.

Frozen Shoulder and Menopause If you’re a woman going through menopause and dealing with a sudden, mysterious shoulder pain, stiffness, or loss of mobility, you’re not alone. Frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, is a condition where the shoulder joint becomes painfully stiff and loses its range of motion over time. While...

Shoulder Pain?

Sub acromial impingement is a fairly common condition. It can be hellishly painful and often causes shoulder stiffness; for this reason it is often confused with or misdiagnosed as a frozen shoulder.

Seek help from your manual therapist or visit website for more information.

www.frozenshoulder.com

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