Peachtree City Chiropractor Treats Shoulder Pain Daily

PEACHTREE CITY — Shoulder pain is one of the most frequent reasons patients walk into HealthChoice Chiropractic in Peachtree City, according to Dr. Noah Marchese, even if many people don’t immediately think of a chiropractor when their shoulder starts hurting.

“I see someone almost every day for a shoulder,” Marchese said.

Knowing when chiropractic care can help — and when it can’t

Marchese is clear that chiropractic care is not a replacement for surgery in every case. Some shoulder injuries require orthopedic care, and he refers patients out when that is the appropriate course.

“If they have a full rotator cuff tear or a severe shoulder injury, then there’s really nothing I can do about that,” he said.

“If they have a complete tear, a big tear in the labrum or any of the rotator cuff, they’re going to need to see an orthopedic and usually go the surgery route.”

However, many patients come in with less severe — but still painful — conditions.

“If they’re just having some arthritis, some bursitis, even some adhesive capsulitis or frozen shoulder, then they may want to consider a chiropractor,” Marchese said.

Treating the shoulder as a system

Rather than focusing only on the site of pain, Marchese evaluates how the entire shoulder complex is functioning.

“We’re going to look at all the symptoms and the underlying causes,” he said. “We actually try to work and mobilize that shoulder versus just doing an injection and saying, ‘I’ll see you in a few months.’”

In one case, Marchese treated a patient with frozen shoulder, also known as adhesive capsulitis, who had severely limited range of motion.

“They weren’t able to move their arm in any range of motion, or it was very limited,” he said. “We noticed the shoulder blade wasn’t functioning properly.”

Treatment began with improving movement in the shoulder blade and upper back before addressing the shoulder joint itself.

“Working into the shoulder using adjustments, and then soft wave, we were able to pretty much get rid of their frozen shoulder,” Marchese said.

What SoftWave Therapy does

SoftWave Therapy is one of the primary tools Marchese uses to treat shoulder pain.

“Soft wave is just new, awesome technology where we’re using acoustic sound waves to help reduce pain and inflammation, break up muscular adhesions, and ultimately generate your own body’s stem cells to come in and heal soft tissue and joint pain,” he said.

When combined with chiropractic adjustments, Marchese said the results can be significant.

“I’ve had some patients, they’ve come in and it’ll be weird. They can move their arm in some ranges of motion, just maybe not one or two,” he said. “Sometimes they just have a little impingement or muscle tightness, so we work on that, we loosen all that up, and now they can move their arm in every range of motion again.”

Range of motion often comes first

Shoulder problems do not always begin with pain. In many cases, Marchese said, people notice stiffness or limitations before discomfort sets in.

“People experience loss of range of motion or inability to do some motions before they experience pain,” he said. “That’s when you want to start getting it checked out — before the pain even starts.”

The exception is an acute injury.

“If you’re playing pickleball and you go to serve real hard or something and you feel your shoulder pop and now you can’t move it, that just happened right then,” he said.

Fast access and referrals when needed

Marchese said patients experiencing shoulder pain are often able to get in quickly for evaluation.

“We can usually see people same day or next day,” he said.

If an exam shows a condition that chiropractic care cannot resolve, Marchese refers patients directly to an orthopedic specialist.

“If it’s something we’re not going to fix, I send them,” he said.

Insurance and treatment plans

HealthChoice Chiropractic accepts most major insurance plans, though SoftWave Therapy is self-pay. Marchese said the practice offers affordable options for patients.

“Everyone’s different,” he said. “It just depends on the condition, the patient, and the severity.”

Visit HealthChoice ChiropracticHealthChoice Chiropractic is located at 14 Eastbrook Bend #201, Peachtree City, GA 30269. Dr. Noah Marchese and his team welcome patients seeking relief from shoulder pain, as well as knee and back pain. To schedule an appointment, call (770) 408-0184 or visit peachtreecitychiropractor.com.