Shoulder Pain Treatment — Loveland, CO
Your Shoulder Hurts. But the Problem Might Not Be in Your Shoulder.
Most shoulder problems start somewhere else. When the muscles around your shoulder blade and upper back stop doing their job, the shoulder joint gets overloaded trying to pick up the slack. That leads to pain, tearing, impingement, and injury. At One80, we find which muscles dropped the ball and get them working again. The shoulder stops hurting because it stops being overworked.
Conditions we treat
What’s causing your shoulder pain?
Most shoulder conditions share the same upstream failure — the muscles controlling the shoulder blade have shut off, overloading everything downstream. Find your condition and see how we fix it.
Rotator Cuff Tear
Your rotator cuff is a group of four small muscles that keep the ball of the shoulder sitting correctly in the socket while your bigger muscles do the heavy lifting. When the cuff tears, it’s usually not random bad luck — it’s because those four muscles were already overworked, compensating for the muscles around the shoulder blade that had stopped doing their job.
Most rotator cuff PT focuses on the cuff itself. One80 starts with the shoulder blade muscles that were supposed to be supporting the cuff. When those are working again, the cuff is no longer overworked. The pain goes away because the source of the overload goes away — not because we treated the tear directly.
Labrum Tear
The labrum is a ring of tough cartilage that lines the edge of your shoulder socket. When it tears — from a fall, collision, overhead sport, or wear and tear — the shoulder can feel unstable, painful, or like it might pop out. The real problem: the muscles that were supposed to keep the ball in the socket had already failed, forcing the labrum to take on a job it wasn’t designed to do.
We identify which muscles have turned off and restore their ability to actively hold the joint in place. When those muscles are working again, the labrum is no longer being overloaded. The pain and instability resolve — often without surgery.
Shoulder Impingement
Impingement happens when your rotator cuff tendons get pinched between the arm bone and the bony roof above it every time you lift your arm. The pinching happens because the shoulder blade isn’t tilting back and rotating upward the way it should. And the reason the shoulder blade moves wrong? The lower trapezius and serratus anterior have shut down.
Fix the muscles that move the shoulder blade and the impingement stops — because the space opens back up. Most impingement cases resolve in 3–5 visits when the shoulder blade mechanics are properly addressed. Anti-inflammatories and stretching don’t fix the muscle failure. We do.
Shoulder Tendonitis
A tendon gets inflamed when it’s doing too much work. In the shoulder, the most common pattern is this: the muscles around the shoulder blade go quiet, the rotator cuff and bicep tendon have to work overtime, and eventually that extra work creates inflammation. Take away the overload and the tendon calms down for good.
Rest, ice, and stretching help the tendon calm down temporarily. They don’t change how much load the tendon is under. We restore the shoulder blade muscles, take the tendon off overtime, and the inflammation resolves — and stays resolved.
Shoulder Dislocation
When your shoulder dislocates, the ball comes out of the socket. Even after it’s put back, the muscles that were supposed to keep it there have been stretched, strained, and shocked. Without proper rehab, the shoulder stays loose and the risk of it going out again — which is very high, especially in younger people — stays elevated.
We specifically rebuild the fine-tuned muscle control that keeps the ball centered in the socket during fast, unpredictable movements. The goal isn’t to get you back to where you were. It’s to make the shoulder more stable than it was before the dislocation.
Why One80 PT gets shoulder results when other clinics don’t
Most shoulder PT gives you rotator cuff exercises and tells you to rest it. One80 starts with the muscles that were supposed to be supporting the cuff — the lower trap, serratus, and rhomboids. That’s a fundamentally different starting point. When those are working, the rotator cuff gets the support it was designed to have and the pain resolves.
We serve patients from Loveland, Fort Collins, Berthoud, Windsor, Timnath, and across Northern Colorado. One therapist. One patient. Every visit.
Common questions about shoulder pain
Do I need surgery for a rotator cuff tear?
Not always. Many partial tears — and even some full tears — resolve well without surgery when the shoulder mechanics are corrected. If the muscles around your shoulder blade are doing their job properly, the cuff doesn’t have to work as hard to stay stable.
My MRI shows a tear. Doesn’t that mean it needs to be fixed surgically?
A tear on an MRI tells you the tissue is damaged. It doesn’t tell you whether that damage is causing your pain. Studies have found rotator cuff tears in people with zero pain. The real question is whether the shoulder is functioning correctly — and that’s a question we can answer in your first visit.
How soon can I start PT after a shoulder dislocation?
Usually within a few days of the injury, once the acute pain and swelling settle. Early PT produces better outcomes than waiting weeks in a sling. We work within whatever protective guidelines your doctor has set.
Do you treat shoulder pain in Fort Collins and surrounding areas?
Yes. One80 Physical Therapy is located in Loveland, CO and serves patients from Fort Collins, Berthoud, Windsor, Timnath, and across Northern Colorado.
Ready to find out why your shoulder really hurts?
Call (970) 593-9300 or book your free consultation.
One therapist. One patient. Results on your first visit — guaranteed.