Deltoid Muscle Strain

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The deltoid muscle is a large and powerful muscle in the shoulder joint. During our everyday tasks the deltoid muscle does most of the heavy work of shoulder by:

• helping the body carry heavy loads
• performing simple tasks as swinging our arms while walking, raising/lowering the arm
• controlling the majority of arm movement when using a keyboard and mouse or when driving

Along with the rotator cuff, the deltoid muscle helps stabilize the shoulder joint from dislocation.

Deltoid strains are common injuries in people that do a lot of strenuous exercise or in athletes that that use their shoulders and deltoid muscles repetitively. The deltoid can be overextended with some movements such as throwing a baseball or lifting too much weight. Many people working on strength training or bodybuilders focus a whole workout on shoulder alone. These long periods of over-use and abuse to the shoulder muscles can easily produce strains (minor tears in muscles and/or tendons) that can be felt as a deep pain in the shoulder. A fall or sudden injury that jars the shoulder joint or even dislocates the shoulder can also cause major damage to the deltoid muscle.

Any strain or pull in muscle tissue means the muscle fibers have experienced some damage. Severity of the damage will usually correlate with degree and duration of pain.

A strained deltoid in the affected shoulder may have signs and symptoms as:

• Swelling, bruising to the area (from damaged to small blood vessels under the skin) or redness
• Pain and soreness when at rest
• stiffness in the muscle
• limited range of movement or unable to use the muscle (shoulder/arm)at all.

More severe strains will result in greater loss of range of motion, weakness and muscle loss (atrophy).

This is a popular question, but the short answer is that it depends on the grade of strain as well as the age of the person, the type of treatment they receive and their overall health. When considering all factors, a the healing time for a deltoid strain can range between a couple of days and four to five months. See directly below for a detailed analysis on deltoid strain grades and the accompanying general healing time estimates.

There are three grades to a deltoid muscle strain.

• Grade 1 - a minor tear of the muscle (10% of the muscle fibers). You may be able to continue your activity because the pain is minor twinge in your shoulder. You will feel an increase in pain when bearing added weight in the arms. The shoulder muscle feels achy and tight for two to five days after the injury, recovery for healing is 7 to 10 days.
• Grade 2 - partial tearing of the deltoid muscle (over 50% of the muscle fibers). You will feel sharp pain and minor to moderate swelling of your shoulder. Lifting your arm to the front, side or back and carrying a small load (carrying a bag of groceries) will cause pain and may be difficult to do. If you press your finger into the deltoid muscle, you will feel an increase in pain. The shoulder muscle feels achy and you will experience tightness for a least a week after the injury. Recovery from a Grade 2 deltoid strain should occur within about 4 to 6 weeks as long as you are resting the shoulder and not re-injuring it.
• Grade 3 - complete tearing of over 90% of the deltoid muscle or rupture. This is the most painful of all the grades of shoulder deltoid pain, causing immediate severe pain, considerable bruising and swelling in the shoulder. You will find that you are unable to move your arm. A slight flex of the muscle might produce a bulge and contracting of the muscle will be very painful. You may not able to use your arm for daily activities and it will be achy and tight for about 30 to 35 days. Recovery from a Grade 3 deltoid strain should occur within about three to four months as long as you are careful with it and resting the shoulder. You may experience substantial scar tissue during the healing phase if the deltoid tear is substantial so light stretching or physiotherapist appointments in the latter period of the healing cycle may be prescribed by your physician.

Sports, Activity

Most deltoid muscle injuries come about due to activities that have over-stressed the deltoid muscle. Common activities to cause deltoid strain are skiing, weightlifting, swimming, carrying children, and working with heavy tools (ie. nailguns, drills, etc). Highly repetitive activity is especially problematic and can even include activities such as typing and gardening.

Acute Injury

It is no secret that a sharp blow to the shoulder can easily result in a deltoid strain. A deltoid strain is a common issue for those that have suffered a shoulder dislocation or even car accident.

Axillary Nerve Issues

The axillary nerve is a tight bundle of nerves near the neck. These nerves are used to stimulate the deltoid muscle into action when we use our shoulder and arm. When the axillary nerve becomes damaged the deltoid muscle can no longer function correctly. You may have numbness over part of the outer shoulder and shoulder weakness (especially when lifting up your arm up and away from the body). Causes are direct injury, long-term pressure on the nerve (from cast or splints), shoulder injury and pressure from surround tissue, body-wide (systemic) disorders that cause nerve inflammation, deep infection, fracture, and improper use of crutches or shoulder dislocation.

Trigger Points - Referred Pain

Trigger points can become problematic and result in pain that seems to be in the deltoid region yet the source of the pain might be from elsewhere. There are trigger points in the deltoid as well, however, which can be activated by repetitive activities outlined above or by incidents such as using your shoulder to break a fall.

The symptoms of a deltoid muscle strain is dependent on the severity of the injury. With a mild injury you may only notice tightness in deltoid, however, a more serious injury can cause weakness, severe pain in the upper arm/shoulder, and difficulties extending the arm upward.

Weakness

Weakness or complete loss of function of the deltoid muscle can also be experienced as a result of a pulled muscle. This along with your other symptoms may make it difficult for you to raise your arm, throw a ball or attach a seatbelt in your car.

Swelling and Bruising

Swelling in the deltoid muscle is a result of soft tissues becoming inflamed; this normally occurs with a more serious strain. Warmth and redness may accompany swelling in severe cases. You may also feel a gap, dent or bulge in your muscle that is not normally present.

Occasionally, bruising (contusion) and discoloration over the deltoid muscle may appear immediately or after a few days with severe strains.

Decreased Flexibility

You may experience stiffness or decreased range of motion (ROM) as a result of a pulled deltoid. The tightness at the outer arm extending from your shoulder will make it difficult to raise your arm upward. Your sleep may be affected if the stiffness causes discomfort.

You may be experiencing muscle spasms. An injury can make the muscle and/or nerves behave abnormally and improper contraction signals may be sent to the brain causing the deltoid muscle to spasm.

With an avulsion, or rupture, you will probably feel a gap in the muscle and an inability to raise the arm outward.

Deltoid Pain

A sharp pain or twinges may be felt along the front, side or back of the shoulder. You may experience tenderness and/or muscle spasms in the muscle during active and resistive movements. Pain often increases when pressure is applied to the injured muscle.

Due to the pain, you will probably find that you are unable to move your arm very much - if at all. An avulsion, or complete deltoid tear causes extreme pain, even during rest. The torn tissue may bunch up causing even more pain when outward arm movement is attempted.

If you have a chronic deltoid injury, you may feel more of a dull ache in the shoulder area that lasts for long periods of time.

Popping Noise

A popping or snapping sensation at the shoulder can often be heard and felt when deltoid muscles are tearing. This can happens in weightlifting, sports or any activity where there is significant stress on the deltoid muscle.

Deltoid Muscle Strain Diagnosis

Diagnosing your deltoid injury will help determine the course of action necessary for proper treatment. If you have suffered from a painful strain and you have lost power in your upper arm or shoulder, it is very important to see a physician, as the shoulder region is often a location where pain from heart, lung and bowel issues will show up. Furthermore, referred pain from trigger points may also mean the source of pain is elsewhere, so make sure you find out what is really causing you pain. Although complete tears are not common, they can go unnoticed as the symptoms can be similar to a bad strain.

To help your doctor achieve a proper diagnosis, he/she will begin with a medical history about you, your current condition and symptoms. He/she will inquire about the intensity of your present pain, if you heard a popping noise when you first experienced your injury, the duration and type of symptoms and the limitations you are experiencing. Details about what instigated your problem, when it started, and whether or not you have ever had treatments for this or a similar condition in the past, will be very helpful in assessing your injury.

A physical examination will be performed to determine if you have any signs of a pulled deltoid. Your doctor will visually assess and feel the muscles, bones and other soft tissue in and around your arm/shoulder, as well as your opposite shoulder and arm to evaluate sameness (symmetry), recognize differences and identify pain and tenderness. This will help to discover any abnormalities, such as mild or severe inflammation, fluid, bruising, bone or tissue deformity, and muscular or skeletal discrepancies. He/she may ask you to complete a series of flexing and extending arm movements to see what motions cause pain, weakness, tightness, or instability. This will help to determine the location of your injury (in the muscle belly or near the attachment), test for the grade of your deltoid strain and determine muscle imbalances.

Common Muscle Injury Diagnostic Tests:

Most grade 1 or 2 muscle strains don't require diagnostic testing, however these tests will help confirm if you have a grade 3 strain and/or will rule out other causes of arm/shoulder pain.

X-rays will provide a two-dimensional image of the overall structure of your upper arm, elbow, chest and shoulder. They are helpful in identifying instability, avulsion fractures, abnormal bone shapes (bone spurs, calcifications or cysts, joint degeneration), and/or other problems.

CT scans (computed tomography) and diagnostic ultrasounds may be used to look internally at tendons and muscles.

MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging) will provide more detailed information and will help to evaluate the soft tissues in and around your deltoid (muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, and other connective tissues). They can identify ligament or tendon damage, and can help to determine the extent of your injury, the grade of your tear or inflammation, as well as other associated conditions.

Strained Deltoid Treatments

Deltoid injuries are frustrating to live with and healing can take a long time because it's difficult to give your arm the rest it needs. This is especially true for certain types of work (ie. mechanic) and athletes that return to their sport too early. Re-injury is common despite that fact that it prolongs recovery and may also lead to permanent damage and/or other conditions.

Treating your deltoid strain correctly is essential to getting rid of your pain and restoring function to your upper arm and shoulder. Proper treatment will get you back to regular activities sooner, stop your pain, and reduce the risk of future re-injury.

To restore strength and range of motion in your deltoid, treatment should focus on minimizing further damage and preventing both scar tissue formation and muscle atrophy (shrinkage and weakening of the muscle). This requires rest and the appropriate therapies at the right time. Almost all types of deltoid pulls and tears (except a complete rupture) can be properly treated with trusted therapies that are available for use at home. Complete ruptures require surgery - however, using these home therapies after surgery can help speed recovery, improve function, and increase range of motion in your shoulder and arm.

The good news is that most cases of deltoid muscle strains will heal with simple home conservative treatments and surgery is often not needed!

An injury that often leads to straining in other areas (as is the case with a deltoid muscle strain) will make an overall recovery hard to initiate. People tend to "chase the pain", meaning they only focus on treating an area that is actively painful, while not taking into account the fact that other areas of the body will be overcompensating...eventually leading to issues in those areas as well. With injuries such as these, the importance of recovering quickly is often underestimated.

We know that heat increases blood flow in soft tissue in the treatment area. This means ligaments, muscles, and tendons. Increased blood flow, combined with heat results in relaxation of the vessel walls. The vessels then gently expand, allowing for more nutrient rich blood flow along with extra oxygen to reach the damaged tissues. Plus, the enhanced blood flow helps in flushing waste and fluid build-up from the injury site - further enhancing the ability of the body to heal.

Now that the importance of localized enhanced blood flow has been established, we should talk about the TShellz Wrap^®.

The TShellz Wrap^® - Healthy Muscles For The Long Term

The best option we came across in our research to accomplish effective blood flow to soft tissue in the treatment area at home is the TShellz Wrap^®. Use of this device results in an increase of blood flow within the treatment area - all in a non-invasive manner.

With a TShellz Wrap^® application, more blood begins to flow effectively to soft tissue within the body - for the length of the treatment and a short duration thereafter. Deep tissue needs the extra blood flow to heal as it is through the blood the body carries the oxygen and nutrients needed for proper and long-term healing.

Have you seen what happens when you add water to a flower wilted from drought? In essence, your injured deltoid is much like a "wilted" flower; your body wants to heal its injury, but needs lots of nutrients to do it. Blood brings life to your tissue by delivering healing nutrients and oxygen that are vital for their growth and survival. In addition, the blood carries away toxins and waste cleaning the area and healing it faster. Without a good supply of blood, your shoulder simply won't heal properly.

Using a TShellz Wrap^® will not expose you to the risk of causing further harm to soft tissue like you can when using rigorous exercise. The Shoulder TShellz Wrap^® accomplishes the goal of enhanced blood flow without the need for intensive exercise and as such reduces your risk of re-injury.

Who Should Use the Shoulder TShellz Wrap^®

We recommend the use of a Shoulder TShellz Wrap^®:

• If you have bursitis, tendinitis or other soft tissue damage in your shoulder, then the Shoulder TShellz Wrap^® will provide the all-important function of boosting blood circulation where it is needed most.
• If you are dealing with soft tissue conditions affecting your range of motion.
• If you have a chronic soft tissue shoulder condition that has lasted for years- this device is intended to kick start the recovery process and help strengthen the surrounding and supporting tissues.
• If you have tight or shortened shoulder tissue that are a high risk of strain- this device is designed to heat tissue - a known and proven way to increase length, elasticity and flexibility of muscles, tendons and ligaments. The TShellz Wrap^® is basically a home treatment device to reduce your risk of incurring further soft tissue strain.
• If you are still working with a shoulder strain or mild tear, the TShellz Wrap^® will help relax tissue in the shoulder prior to work and after a day at the job.
• If you are still trying to enjoy your favorite activities such as gardening, tennis, golf, etc - use the TShellz Wrap^® prior to activity to help reduce risk of re-injuring or re-aggravating those targeted tissues.
• If you are suffering from bursitis and want to treat a major source of it (inflammation and damage to tissue surrounding the bursa sac). Through trauma, overuse or degenerative changes, muscle and tendons surrounding the bursa sacs will tighten and constrict. When they do, they place pressure on the bursa, causing it to become irritated. Applying a TShellz Wrap^® to the area will help relax tissue in the treatment area, taking pressure off the bursa.
• If you are experiencing atrophy in your shoulder and want to reduce the chance of re-injury while stretching - this is a perfect treatment to use every time before you stretch.
• If you have been to a clinic for some form of massage or stretching and your PT or physician has recommended conservative treatments for home.
• If you are experiencing atrophy in your shoulder and want to reduce the chance of re-injury (or further injury) while stretching - this is a perfect treatment to use on a regular basis, by enhancing blood flow and elongating soft tissue.
• If you are experiencing tightness in your muscle(s) and want to reduce the chance of re-injury while stretching - we recommend the use of a TShellz Wrap^® before you stretch.

When To Use a TShellz Wrap^®

• After swelling and inflammation have been reduced.
• Before exercise or workouts to warm up muscles and tendons of the deltoid to reduce risk of re-injury.
• Before and after surgery during rehabilitation to warm up your tissues before PT exercising or stretching. For Post-Surgery, only use a TShellz Wrap^® after the wound has healed, swelling is gone and you have been assigned stretches for home (minimum 6 weeks after surgery).
• Anytime you feel the tendons in your arm/shoulder have stiffened up, are tight and your mobility is reduced causing you more pain.
• Anytime you have sore or aching tissue in your arm, elbow and/or shoulder.
• Any other situation where you need to increase blood flow to your deltoid injury to relax your tendon, relieve pain, prevent re-injury and enhance flexibility of your tissue.

The most common question we receive from individuals prior to purchasing is - how many times a day should I be using my TShellz Wraps and when should I be using them? While treatment plans will differ for each individual and their specific injury, there are general guidelines that should be adhered to.

• Use a Cold Compress or Ice Pack when you are experiencing inflammation (usually after exertion or movement of the injury area).

The TShellz Wrap^® would then be used:

• Right after rising from bed in the morning (as this is when it is most stiff)
• Prior to going to bed at night (to relax the arm & shoulder, allowing for better sleep)
• Before you know you will be using your injured joint (going to work, driving, typing, etc).

Conservative treatment tools just like these have been used successfully by thousands of tendon injury sufferers - just like you.

We believe the use of TShellz Wraps^® for boosting blood flow to soft tissue in the area of application is one of the most under-utilized home treatment options available on the market today. We have client after client that have tried many options out there and have been amazed at how effective and fast our recommended treatment tools can provide comfort, relieve pain and increase blood flow in the shoulder and upper arm.

With regular use of the Shoulder TShellz Wrap:

• Your pain will be reduced*.
• Due to increased blood flow, soft tissue in the treatment area on the shoulder will be expected to recover at an accelerated rate with reduced potential for re-injury*.
• Tissue in the treated area should experience a larger range of motion and increased extensibility of collagen tissue* due to the heat effect on soft tissue. This should translate into a reduced rate of re-injury occurrence as soft tissue is known to lengthen and become more flexible when exposed to warm temperature. (*Chapter 9 of "Therapeutic Heat and Cold", 4th edition. (amazon.com link - Ed. Justus F. Lehmann, M.D., Williams, and Wilkin)

We strongly believe that we can help you, and we have thousands of happy clients to back this claim. You are welcome to try our products for a 60 day period.. If you are committed to following the treatments outlined in the product instructions we are very confident that our TShellz Wraps will aid you immensely. If you do not receive the benefits that countless of our other customers have experienced from our products, call us, mail the product back to us and we will provide you with a full product refund.

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During your recovery, you will probably have to modify and/or eliminate any activities that cause pain or discomfort at the location of your soft tissue injury until the pain and inflammation settle. Always consult your doctor and/or Physical Therapist before using any of our outstanding products, to make sure they are right for you and your condition. The more diligent you are with your treatment and rehabilitation, the faster you will see successful results!