SHOULDER INJURIES

- THOMAS E,SPORTS MEDICINE
 The dominant shoulder is the most often damaged in sporting injuries. As right-handed players predominate in sports the right shoulder represents about 70% of the injuries to this region.
 Pain in the shoulder may refer from the cervical spine, and it is vital to establish whether this is so. Everyone complaining of shoulder pain should be checked for a full range of painless movement in the neck. Checking the alignment of the head will sometimes help diagnosis.
 From a homoeopathic point of view, pain originating in the neck and extending into the shoulder will be an important symptom that adds to the overall totality of symptoms that help choose the remedy. The correct remedy chosen according to that totality will naturally cure the neck problem too. I always refer such patients to an osteopath or chartered physiotherapist.
 The following case demonstrates how a homoeopathic remedy can work at all levels. Even when the patient came about her sore throat, the remedy worked on her neck and shoulder, and may even have helped her to make up her mind about changing jobs.
 CASE 23
 Helen is a county standard lacrosse player who came to me about a persistent sore throat that made her hoarse and she also mentioned pain in her shoulder. She described the pain as 'rheumatic' because it seemed like the pain her mother also had. She described herself as a very sensitive person who always thought about other people's problems. She worked as a manager of a very busy town-centre coffee shop, but was planning a change of career because of the stress of business. She was planning to move into one of the caring professions, but could not make up her mind to move.
 In my consulting room I noticed that her nose was about 30mm off the central line of her spine, and that her neck seemed stiff. I asked her about her neck, and she agreed it was so stiff it was difficult to move her head. I recommended an osteopath, and prescribed one Causticum 30c three times daily for three days.
 The Causticum helped both her throat and her shoulder.
 She telephoned me the day following her first osteopathic treatment because she was suffering sharp, cutting and intolerable pain in her neck in reaction to the treatment, and it was radiating into her shoulder. Her spine felt very sensitive, and movement made it worse.
 Hypericum is a good remedy for pains in nerve-rich parts, and to follow injury, shock and concussion to the spine. It eases the pain in reaction to manipulative treatment, and Helen took one Hypericum 30c routinely after every treatment. In three months she had enrolled on a social work course, her throat, shoulder and neck were free of pain, and she was enjoying her lacrosse again.