Studio Rehab for the Shoulder
Your shoulder is made up of 33 muscles across 4 joints that work together to keep the joint both stable and mobile — and in everyday life, you need a good mix of both strength and movement. When a shoulder injury happens, it can really throw things off, whether that’s at work, during sport, or even just trying to get a good night’s sleep. Pain, weakness and stiffness can have a big impact on day-to-day life. The good news? At The Physios, shoulder problems are something we see all the time, so you’re in good hands. Some of the most common causes of shoulder pain include:
– Rotator cuff disorders (or rotary cuff as people call it in Sheffield!)
– Glenohumeral joint disorders, for example frozen shoulder
– Acromioclavicular joint (where your clavicle meets the shoulder) problems
You may have been diagnosed with one of these conditions. Or maybe you have had an ultrasound scan, an injection or an operation and are wondering, what’s next!? This blog explains just why studio rehab may be the important next steps for your rehabilitation journey.
Studio Rehab After a Shoulder Injection:
While cortisone injections can offer quick relief from pain and inflammation, they only create a window of opportunity for rehabilitation — they don’t fix the underlying problem. We always advise an injection is paired with commitment to follow-up rehab.
Rehabilitation is what actually addresses the root causes of your pain and dysfunction, targeting specific weaknesses and guiding you on the right frequency, intensity, and progression of exercises- read more about why rehab is so important post injection here.
Studio Rehab After Shoulder Surgery:
After shoulder surgery the shoulder is vulnerable to stiffness, weakness, and movement limitations. Your physio will assess surgical type, healing stage, and individual goals to prescribe exercises that are safe and effective. In addition, we also work towards long term goals, helping you towards the specific activities and sports you would like to get back to. Often your consultant will give you a a protocol post op to follow. We use this to help guide the progression and expectations.
Why Studio Rehab?
1. Manual Therapy (the hands on stuff!)
Hands-on manual therapy often includes shoulder mobilisations. Your physiotherapist will gently move your shoulder joint through its natural range of motion, easing stiffness and helping the joint glide more freely. This can help reduce pain, ease stiffness, and support your shoulder’s return to normal, comfortable movement.
2. Progressive Exercise
Studio rehab involves a physiotherapist guiding you through a tailored, progressive exercise programme. A key part of studio rehab is working through the three levels of exercise;
- Level 1 Restoring the basics: pain management, gentle mobility, muscle activation and normal movement patterns. After shoulder surgery this may include simple range-of-motion work and rotator cuff activation. After an injection or acute injury it may mean settling pain while reintroducing light loading.
- Level 2 Building strength and control. This is where exercises become more functional – e.g. overhead press, push/pull exercises, resisted shoulder strengthening and movement retraining.
- Level 3 Performance and return to life. This stage prepares you for gym work, golf, tennis or sport-specific tasks, depending on your goals.
3. Return to the things you love
Our favourite part. We love to discharge patients back to the sports and activities that they love to do. What excites us even more is when we discharge people back to things that they never thought were possible to achieve.
Is Studio Rehab for Me?
We know that exercise can feel daunting after an injury. That’s why you won’t leave with a generic sheet of exercises. Our physiotherapists stay with you every step of the way. We fine-tune your programme so it’s always pitched just right. Enough to challenge your shoulder and keep you progressing, but never more than you’re ready for.
Studio rehab is all about getting you back to the long-term things you love. Whether that’s in the garden, hitting personal bests in the gym, or getting back on the badminton court. At your very first session, we’ll sit down and ask about your goals, so come ready to chat! This helps us shape every session around your hobbies, interests, and the things you actually need your shoulder to do.
We aim to keep your rehab to a gold-standard. We want you to know what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and do it well.
For more information or to book an appointment please give the practice a call on 0114 267 8181
