Shoulder problems are very common and may be due to a number of different causes such as rotator cuff and other muscle tears, impingement and other tendon issues, frozen shoulder, acromio-clavicular joint problems, dislocations and joint laxity, referred pain from the neck & upper back and osteoarthritis. Poor shoulder function may also be the underlying cause of elbow, wrist & hand problems.
Osteopaths are trained to differentiate between these types of shoulder problem and make a diagnosis based on your history, onset of pain and physical examination. On some occasions, your Osteopath will recommend a referral for further investigation such as ultrasound scan, X-ray or arthrogram.
However, most shoulder problems respond well to conservative manual therapy and exercise but tend to take a long time to resolve compared to other regions of the body.