When my husband first came home from rehab – and especially after moving from using a wheelchair to a walker – we noticed he had quite a bit of shoulder pain.
Because his affected arm hung at his side, the weight of his arm was pulling on his shoulder. This was causing some separation in the arm and shoulder, which in turn was causing the pain.
His occupational therapist recommended a brace that looked like this:
This may be a good option for you and this brace is available via Amazon.
This brace is great while in a standing position, but would not work well while sitting because your arm has to stay in a straight position with this brace.
Because my husband was having shoulder pain that was constant – no matter if he was sitting or standing, we felt he needed something he could wear no matter what position he was in.
I did some research, and we went with this brace:
When we started using it, he got relief from the pain almost immediately. He was able to wear this during physical therapy sessions (leg work), while walking, sitting, sleeping, etc.
His occupational therapist did take it off when working on his arm and would put it back on after the session.
He wore it almost constantly for the first couple of months we had it, then he started being able to taper off gradually.
My husband does not have constant shoulder pain anymore, but his shoulder does bother him when he does some of his at-home exercises where he is holding a grab bar and doing knee bends, etc. That pressure bothers his shoulder so he wears the brace during his exercise time and he does not have any shoulder pain when he wears it. Very helpful!!
If your stroke survivor is experiencing shoulder pain, either of the above-mentioned braces may be helpful for them.
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