You Need To Consider Doing This If Your Shoulder Pain Is Not Improving With Tuina

Shoulder pain can be a persistent and limiting condition, affecting everything from simple daily tasks to your overall quality of life. Whether it’s caused by an injury, poor posture, repetitive movement, or degenerative conditions, the discomfort in your shoulder can make basic actions like lifting your arm, reaching for objects, or even sleeping incredibly painful. The frustration of dealing with ongoing shoulder pain can leave you feeling trapped in a cycle of discomfort, unable to fully enjoy the things you love.

The emotional toll of shoulder pain is real—it can feel isolating and discouraging when the pain doesn’t seem to improve. If traditional treatments haven’t helped, it might be time to explore alternative, non-invasive solutions like Tuina to address the root cause and bring you the lasting relief you deserve.

Tuina: A Powerful Approach to Treating Shoulder Pain

Tuina is an ancient therapeutic massage technique within Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that has been used for centuries to treat musculoskeletal pain, including shoulder pain. By using a combination of kneading, pressing, and stretching techniques, Tuina works to release muscle tension, improve circulation, reduce inflammation, and restore the flow of energy (qi) throughout the body. For many suffering from shoulder pain, Tuina helps target both the symptoms and underlying causes, promoting natural healing and providing significant pain relief.

While Tuina can be highly effective for many, it may not always provide complete relief if the underlying cause of your shoulder pain has not been properly diagnosed. Without an accurate understanding of the root cause, treatments may provide only temporary relief, rather than solving the deeper issue.

Why Getting a Clear Diagnosis Is Crucial

Shoulder pain can be caused by a wide range of factors. Here are five common causes:

  1. Rotator Cuff Injuries – Damage to the rotator cuff tendons can cause pain, weakness, and limited range of motion.
  2. Frozen Shoulder (Adhesive Capsulitis) – A condition characterized by stiffness and pain in the shoulder joint that restricts movement.
  3. Shoulder Impingement – Compression of the tendons of the rotator cuff can cause pain, particularly when raising the arm.
  4. Bursitis – Inflammation of the bursa, a fluid-filled sac that cushions the shoulder joint, can cause swelling and pain.
  5. Osteoarthritis – Degeneration of the cartilage in the shoulder joint can lead to pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility.

In addition to these common causes, there are two less common but potentially serious causes of shoulder pain:

  1. Fractures – A broken bone in the shoulder can cause intense pain and limit movement.
  2. Infections or Tumors – Rare infections or tumors affecting the shoulder joint can cause significant pain and swelling.

The Need for Imaging to Get a Precise Diagnosis

It’s important to understand that shoulder pain cannot always be fully diagnosed through symptoms or physical examination alone. Imaging techniques such as X-rays, MRIs, or ultrasounds are necessary to determine the precise cause of the pain. These imaging methods allow healthcare providers to assess the condition of the bones, muscles, tendons, and soft tissues in the shoulder joint, enabling them to develop a more accurate diagnosis and treatment plan.

The Pain Relief Clinic: Your Partner in Finding a Clear Diagnosis

At The Pain Relief Clinic, we understand how shoulder pain can hold you back from living your life to the fullest. With over a decade of experience, we specialize in offering non-invasive, comprehensive diagnostic services to identify the root cause of your pain. If you’ve been dealing with shoulder pain and haven’t found lasting relief, we can arrange for affordable scans, typically within one working day. Medisave can often be used to cover the cost of these scans, making them more accessible for you.

We also assist with insurance claims, including accident insurance, travel insurance, and company insurance, so you can access the care you need without financial strain.

Once we have a clear diagnosis, we can provide targeted treatments, solutions, and non-invasive technology to help alleviate your shoulder pain and restore your mobility.

Ready to take control of your shoulder pain? Send us a message today to arrange an appointment and begin your journey toward lasting relief from shoulder pain.

What To Expect When I Visit The Pain Relief Clinic

A typical visit will involve our doctor first understanding your medical history, concerns and previous experience with other pain treatments.

For patients who have consulted many people but have yet to receive a clear diagnosis, selecting an affordable imaging scan might be recommended to confirm the cause of your pain..

Some patients have already done scans with other doctors for their pain condition but are still not clearly told what they suffer from.

Dr Terence Tan is happy to offer you a second opinion and recommend how best to manage your condition.

We also see patients who already have a confirmed diagnosis from specialist pain doctors, but are "stuck” because treatment options offered are not practical or acceptable.

We can help by discussing options that you might have potentially never been told of.

A common experience is when a patient has already consulted a specialist doctor for pain management and is told to consider orthopaedic surgery which they find too aggressive.

Or they may have seen doctors for their pain and were prescribed painkillers with potential side effects which made them feel uncomfortable.

Many of our patients have also first tried complementary treatments or acupuncture with traditional Chinese pain doctors.

They look for a second opinion after finding any relief experienced from other treatments to be temporary or requiring repetitive treatments, which add up to time and cost.

Especially in such situations, we emphasize using non-invasive medical technology you likely have not been told about .

This can make a big difference to your results.