Orthopedic Shoulder Brace - How It Helps?

An orthopedic shoulder brace is a device often used in treatment of shoulder injuries. Basically what it does is that it restricts the movement of the shoulder so that it doesn’t move unnecessarily. This is really crucial since shoulder injury can be very painful for a person and keeping the shoulder restricted is the key to quicker recovery. Normally, the group of people who commomly need orthopedic shoulder braces are athlethes as they are very susceptible to shoulder injuries. Nevertheless, anyone is possible to have a shoulder injury from ordinary activities or events like incorrect sleeping position, rolling off the bed, or lifting an object that is too heavy.

Orthopedic shoulder braces is sometimes worn by athletes to protect themself from having injuries in their activities. While it doesn’t really make them injury-free from shoulder dislocation or other injuries, it can significantly lessen the prevalence rate. However, there is a drawback to wearing orthopedic shoulder brace while playing or training as it can restrict the body movement of the athlete thus severely limiting their ability to perform or compete effectively.

There are two different types of orthopedic shoulder braces. The first type is usually known as thermal wraps. These shoulder braces have a heating and cooling mechanism that can help alleviate the pain that is associated with repetitive or long term injuries. These materials are often made of neoprene since this can maintain the intended temperature better than other materials. A more expensive version of this type of orthopedic shoulder brace is a magnetic wrap. However, it only has a heating mechanism and doesn’t offer cooling unlike thermal wraps.

The second type of orthopedic shoulder braces are  usually referred to as modern shoulder slings. It is an immobilizer that efficiently restricts  the movement of the shoulder to prevent further damage and injury. A modern shoulder sling is an actual wrap that goes around your chest, your wrist, and above your elbow. Modern shoulder slings lets your shoulder to rest making it more susceptible to recovery and healing.

Ultimately,a special type of orthopedic shoulder brace is known as the shoulder posture brace. Its main function is to correct posture problems so it's not really suited for helping a person recover from a shoulder injury.