When the body is correctly aligned, the shoulders are the same height, and face forward. Uneven shoulders are when one shoulder begins to raise higher than the other. It usually starts with a slight difference but can turn into a more severe imbalance causing discomfort, tightness, and pain in the neck, shoulders, hips, and back. Chiropractic treatment can bring the body back into balance and alignment through various techniques and therapy modalities.
Misaligned Uneven Shoulders
Several factors can lead to uneven shoulders. Misalignments can be caused by:
- Often the shoulder on the dominant side tends to be slightly lower.
- Constantly using one hand or side for everything.
- Carrying a heavy bag on the dominant shoulder.
- Structural issues or muscular skeletal imbalances in other areas of the body.
For example, if the ankle or hip gets injured, it can cause an individual to bring their body out of alignment to adjust to how they position themselves and move. Other common causes include:
- Overuse of the shoulders
- Tight upper back muscles
- Unhealthy posture
- Uneven hips
- Pinched nerve
- Weak muscles
- Flat feet
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Varying leg length
- Osteoporosis
- Scoliosis
- Shoulder injuries
- Incorrect sleeping position or sleeping on one side
- Sports like tennis, golf, and baseball have an increased risk of causing misaligned, uneven shoulders and posture imbalances.
Symptoms
Uneven shoulders can result in discomfort, tightness, and stiffness in the neck, shoulders, and lower back.
- Continued tightness and pulling in the higher shoulder.
- Rounded shoulders
- Headaches
- Head misalignment
- Hip misalignment
- Shifting pelvis
- Bursitis
- Tendonitis
Chiropractor
A chiropractic massage and functional medicine team will bring the shoulders back into normal alignment.
- Therapeutic myofascial release massage will release tension, relax the muscles, and increase flexibility.
- Chiropractic adjustments
- Spinal decompression therapy
- Stretches and muscle-building exercises to balance the shoulders.
- Lifestyle adjustment instructions for switching shoulders when carrying bags, using armrests, using the phone, using a mouse, and using ergonomic chairs.
- Posture training includes learning to stay aware of one's posture throughout the day when standing or sitting and completing regular activities.
- Learning to use the non-dominant arm to balance the workload.
- Incorporating relaxation, meditation, and breathing techniques relieve stress, tension, and tightness.
Shoulder Pain Treatment
The information herein is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified healthcare professional or licensed physician and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make your own healthcare decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified healthcare professional. Our information scope is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, sensitive health issues, functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from a wide array of disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate to and directly or indirectly support our clinical scope of practice.* Our office has reasonably attempted to provide supportive citations and identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request.
We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900.
Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, ATN*
email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com
Licensed in: Texas & New Mexico*
References
Burbank, Kelton M et al. "Chronic shoulder pain: part I. Evaluation and diagnosis." American family physician vol. 77,4 (2008): 453-60.
Foroozan Mahmoodi et al. The effect of corrective exercises on the pain and degree of uneven shoulder deformity https://rsr.basu.ac.ir/article_625_en.html
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2017). Stress management. mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/relaxation-technique/art-20045368
Mitchell, Caroline, et al. "Shoulder pain: diagnosis and management in primary care." BMJ (Clinical research ed.) vol. 331,7525 (2005): 1124-8. doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7525.1124
Pu Chu, Eric Chun, and Kevin Hsu Kai Huang. "Bridging the gap between observation and brace treatment for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis." Journal of family medicine and primary care vol. 6,2 (2017): 447-449. doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_52_17
