What's going on
PhysioOnClick's shoulder assessments run by video, or as a home visit in the Glasgow area, and the criteria below are exactly what a physiotherapist checks for in either setting. The shoulder trades stability for range of motion, which makes it unusually dependent on the rotator cuff and scapular muscles working well together. Impingement-type pain, rotator cuff tendinopathy and post-dislocation instability all look different on assessment but share a common thread: symptoms often relate more to how load is shared through the shoulder blade and cuff than to any single 'torn' structure.
Pain with overhead reaching, sleeping on the affected side and reduced strength lifting away from the body are the most common complaints. In most non-traumatic presentations, a graded strengthening programme resolves symptoms without surgery, though findings on a scan (partial tears, bursitis) are extremely common in pain-free shoulders too, which is why symptoms — not imaging alone — should drive the treatment plan.
Practical guidance on home-working posture
Home workstations are frequently improvised — a laptop on a kitchen table, a sofa, or a dining chair — and the resulting posture (neck flexed forward, shoulders hunched, wrists at an awkward angle) tends to load the neck, shoulders and lower back for hours without the variety a traditional office often provided through walking to meetings or a printer.
The most effective, lowest-cost fix is usually raising the laptop screen to eye height (using books or a stand) with a separate keyboard and mouse, rather than working directly on the laptop itself, combined with deliberately building movement breaks back into a day that no longer has an office commute or corridor walks.
Assessment and when to get extra help
A shoulder assessment checks active and passive range of motion, resisted strength testing for each rotator cuff muscle, scapular positioning and control, and how symptoms change with specific provocation tests, alongside a history of any dislocation, trauma or instability episodes.
A shoulder that looks deformed or out of place after a fall, or that cannot be moved at all following trauma, needs A&E to rule out a dislocation or fracture; call 999 if you cannot get there yourself, and do not drive yourself. Shoulder pain with chest pain, chest tightness or breathlessness needs a 999 call, and do not drive yourself. New numbness down the arm with neck pain needs an urgent GP appointment or NHS 111 to check for a cervical nerve root problem before rehab begins.
A practical starting point
Raise your screen so the top of it is roughly at eye level, use a separate keyboard if working from a laptop, and set a alarm for a two-minute stand-and-stretch break at least once an hour through the working day.
This guide is part of PhysioOnClick's patient education library and is intended to support informed decisions, not replace an individual assessment. If symptoms are worsening, unclear, or affecting your confidence with movement, a full physiotherapy assessment is the safest next step.