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Mojo Chat is the virtual physical therapy platform brought to you by Mojo Health
A lesser known and incredibly pesky injury of the shoulder can cause a lot of misdiagnosis. Side sleepers can suffer for weeks without knowing what is causing this deep, almost debilitating pain. This and other injuries like it are detected, diagnosed and cured with the elite physical therapy knowledge powering Mojo Chat.
The pectoralis minor is not a muscle we talk about much! It lives deep in the underarm and connects the rib cage to the shoulder blade. When this muscle gets strained, it tends to stay in a locked up position for weeks at a time. This causes pain in the outer and back of the shoulder at night while sleeping, and most people describe the pain as a “deep, dark” pain.
When this affects us, we find ourselves tossing and turning from one side to the other. Once the pain sets in for the night nothing seems to relieve it. This is a sleep wrecker, and the pain usually stays with us for an hour or so after waking up in the morning. It disappears mid-morning and then we go about our day hoping it was just a fluke, but then it comes back just as intense the next night.
What Causes This Annoying Pain?
There are two additional muscles that all work together as a team to provide stability and extended movements for the arm and shoulder. The coracobrachialis and the deep brachial muscles are also not widely talked about.
This group of muscles allow us humans to use upper arm strength for things like lifting heavy objects, pulling with a rowing motion, and stabilizing shoulder motions. These are motions we don’t do much in a regular day, which means that injuries to these muscles happen while doing unpredictable things. And of course we tend to stress these muscles while doing strength training.
Another group of rotator cuff muscles - the teres major, teres minor and supra infraspinatus - connect the shoulder blade to the shoulder. Strains to these muscles can also add to annoying pain at night when sleeping on your side. This is because when lying on your side these tight muscles gets stretched as the shoulder and shoulder gets separated due to bodyweight pressure on the shoulder.
How a Pectoralis Minor Strain Can Fester
What’s truly remarkable about the pain we feel when the pectoralis minor is strained, is that the pain only occurs at night while sleeping. Sometimes we can still sleep fairly well, which makes this injury easy to ignore. But what’s also remarkable is that it can grow over time with continued overuse, such as with a new strength training program. The pain is not felt in the underarms, however–it is felt in the top, side and back of the shoulder. This makes it difficult for lay people to diagnose, and it just comes back over and over again, leaving us basically helpless. After a few weeks of this pattern the pain starts to predictably come find us and punish us at will, like a terrifying neighborhood bully!
Quick Healing Is Readily Available
The good news is that the root cause of this injury is fairly easy to diagnose, and also easy to treat. An elite level physical therapist will be able to rule out several other problems and arrive at the correct diagnosis. Mojo Chat does this automatically because a pectoralis minor strain is right in the wheelhouse of the 166 diagnoses that it scans for. Self-treatment is not difficult and can be performed at home, with no special tools or equipment.
When treatment is first administered for a strained pectoralis minor muscle (or any of the other muscles nearby) you will feel a deep pain that is not like the original pain–this one feels like a healing pain. Let this pain do its work to gently stretch the locked up pectoralis minor muscle, and the affected muscle will rather quickly go back to its normal behavior. This means the shoulder will no longer be antagonized by its continual pulling at the connection points.
Those suffering with a pectoralis minor strain commonly report that once the proper treatment is administered the pain disappears permanently within just two days! The key is getting a correct diagnosis first, however, because there are several nearby muscles that work together as a group.
Also, the pain involved is felt in a different location entirely (the top, side or back of the shoulder) and this causes a lot of misdiagnosis for sure. Applying the treatment is not difficult, but we need to be sure that we relax and find the right muscle to stretch. Mojo Chat makes this easy with videos that demonstrate exactly what to do!
You’re In Great Hands
At Mojo Health, we treat strains of the pectoralis minor, coracobrachialis and deep brachial muscles every week, and our patients swear by our results. With our online physical therapy platform Mojo Chat, you can start recovery from home at any time, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Mojo Chat begins with easy to answer questions about your shoulder, upper arm, back and more—the exact same questions our physical therapists ask when they see you in person. Then, you can record a short video to show our physical therapists exactly where it hurts, explain how it started, and share any questions or concerns you may have.
A licensed physical therapist reviews everything and delivers a clear diagnosis, plus a tailored 14-day treatment plan you can start immediately. Mojo Chat guides you daily, lets you ask questions to our doctors via text or video, and adjusts your plan as you heal. Our therapists and care team track your progress to ensure you’re on the right path. And get this... 86% of users who follow the full 14-day treatment plan report significant to full healing. For users who need more help, Mojo Chat guides them to the best in-person physical therapy clinics nearby.
Don’t Put Up with Nighttime Shoulder Pain
If that annoying nighttime shoulder pain haunts you while trying to sleep, don’t wait. Start a Mojo Chat case today and take the next step toward relief. If your employer offers Mojo Chat, check with Human Resources for a coupon code. Or, simply use a credit card to get started.
No appointments. No hassle. Just expert help when you need it—anytime, anywhere.