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Chiropractic and Bieps Tendonitis

Published: August 28, 2018

Ever had pain in the front of your shoulder? It’s possible it could be inflammation relating to your bicep’s tendon, ‘Biceps Tendonitis’.

Hi, this is Dr. Andrew Arnold from Cranbourne Family Chiropractic and Wellness Ctr.

Dr. Andrew Arnold says, ‘as a Chiropractor, you might think all we see all day is spines. Not the case. We see all sorts of joint problems and this week I want to talk about BicepTendonitisis.

Let’s first talk about the anatomy.

The shoulder is super complex: 17 muscles act on the shoulder with spinal and shoulder blade attachments from top to bottom. Only 4 muscles go from the shoulder to the shoulder, they’re called the rotator cuff.

The shoulder is made of up 4 joints: The Sterno-clavicular or SCJ, The Acromio-clavicular or ACJ, the Gleno-humeral or ‘ball joint’ and the scapula-thoracic or ‘Shoulder blade-ribcage joint’.

Then there is fluid filled cushions called bursa (you may have heard of bursitis) not to mention numerous ligaments and other joint structures such as capsule tissues.

Like I said super complex!

The shoulder therefore, relies heavily on spinal stability to work efficiently and properly.

From time to time problems arise mainly due to repetitive strain. One such condition is biceps tendonitis.

The bicep tendon has 2 origins (thus the term biceps meaning 2 heads). One of these tendons runs in a boney groove which is located in the front of the upper end of the shoulder, the humerus. As you move your shoulder this tendon moves along the groove (there are 3 other muscle attachments found here also).

Repetative friction may cause inflammation of this tendon over time, particularly over head working.

The tendon becomes inflamed and may even shift out of its groove partially. The result is pain and restricted movement.

Your Chiropractor is well placed to assess, diagnose and treat this condition.

The Chiropractor will address both spine and shoulder joint function or dysfunction and associate muscle tension. The biceps tendon can be manipulated and mobilized along with modalities such as TENS, interferential, ultra-sound and ice.

In my experience, we have had excellent results in treating and managing this condition.

For further information or an appointment call us on 5998 4554.

About the Author:

Dr. Andrew Arnold is a Chiropractor and the Million Dollar Wellness Mentor.

Founder: 12 Keys Wellness Practice Workshop, Cranbourne Family Chiropractic and Wellness Centreand Million Dollar Wellness

Andrew is married to Dr. Linda Wilson, the Stress Specialist and has two children, Isaac and Bella. He lives in Melbourne, Australia.