The spring and summer months are the months when many people do odd jobs in and around the house. While doing odd jobs, you use muscles you don't normally use and often adopt a position your body is not used to. This can lead to strain on muscles, tendons and joints. One of the most common complaints after doing odd jobs is shoulder pain. In this blog, we will tell you how to prevent shoulder pain when doing odd jobs and read more about different shoulder conditions.

How does shoulder pain occur?

Shoulder pain has several causes. One of the most common causes of shoulder pain is overuse. When you make the same movement too long, too often, you overload the muscles and tendons in the shoulder. This causes pain that can last for a long time. When you sit, stand or lie in the same position for a long time, your shoulders can also become sore. Your muscles are then constantly tightened and this causes pain.

Preventing shoulder pain after chores

While doing odd jobs, you sometimes make movements that your shoulders are not used to. That is why it is important to pay extra attention to your posture while doing odd jobs, as you often do not think about your posture or your movements. You usually only experience the shoulder pain the next day and by then it is too late. Incorrect movement can cause many complaints that are easy to prevent by paying attention to your posture.

We would like to give you some tips to prevent shoulder pain due to chores:

Start with small, less strenuous chores; after all, when you exercise you do a warm-up too
Take regular breaks during chores and try to relax your shoulders properly
Do stretches in between; a very good exercise, for example, is by pulling the shoulders back and moving the shoulder blades towards each other. For more exercises, check out our blog about stretching.
Pay attention to your posture; make sure you keep your elbows close to your body when lifting heavy things. And lift from your legs and not your back.

What shoulder conditions can occur after chores?

Impingement: Impingement is also known as impingement syndrome. It occurs when tissue in the shoulder becomes trapped. This can happen, for example, when overuse causes the bursa, a muscle or a tendon to become irritated, causing swelling.
Frozen shoulder: Frozen shoulder is a condition in which the joint capsule adheres. This reduces your ability to move your shoulder. This condition is usually caused by an inflammatory reaction in the body and causes you to have less freedom of movement in your shoulder.
RSI: RSI stands for Repetitive Strain Injury and is a collective term for muscle and joint complaints in the hands, wrists, arms, shoulders or neck. These complaints are caused by prolonged constant tightening of the muscles. So if you do the same actions all day while doing chores and for several days in a row, RSI may be lurking.

Treatments for shoulder pain after chores

Don't stay around with shoulder pain for too long. This can make your symptoms worse. The physiotherapist can use different types of treatment to relieve your shoulder pain. For example, shockwave and dry needling can be used if the pain comes mainly from the muscle. Since the shoulder is a joint, manual therapy can also be used. A manual therapist focuses on all joints in the body. He assesses whether there are underlying symptoms coming from other joints that can cause the shoulder pain.

After the treatment programme, the physiotherapist may recommend that you strengthen the muscles in your shoulder. For this, you will be given exercises to do at home or you will work on them in the exercise room at the practice.