Shoulder Pain
Shoulder pain may be caused by a traumatic injury or by overuse of the arm with repetitive motion. People may report feeling an aching or other discomfort when moving or using the arm.
Shoulder Dislocation/Labral Tear
The shoulder joint can dislocate from the socket with an injury or repetitive overuse. The injury weakens the muscles holding the shoulder in place. The extent of the dislocation, whether the ball is moved partially or fully out of the socket, affects the amount of pain you may experience, especially if a tear occurs in the muscle and soft tissues surrounding the socket.
Fracture
A fracture, or break, of one of the bones in the shoulder usually occurs from a fall or collision. While some fractures are obvious, some are not.
Rotator Cuff Tear
A torn rotator cuff causes pain, weakness, and an inability to move the arm freely during full range of motion. It also tends to be painful when you try to lift and turn your arm during overhead activity.
Your rotator cuff is made up of the muscles and tendons in your shoulder, which connect your upper arm bone (humerus) with your shoulder blade (scapula). The rotator cuff holds the ball of the humerus firmly in the shoulder socket.
A rotator cuff injury includes any type of irritation or damage to your rotator cuff muscles or tendons. About half the time, a rotator cuff injury can heal with the help of physical therapy.
Causes
Four major muscles (subscapularis, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and teres minor) make up the rotator cuff.
Rotator cuff injuries can be acute (traumatic) or chronic injuries that happen over time. These injuries include:
- General wear and tear as you get older or participate in repetitive movement activities.
- Tendonitis – tendons in your rotator cuff can be come inflamed due to overuse or overload.
- Bursitis – the fluid-filled sac (bursa) between your shoulder joint and rotator cuff tendons can become irritated and inflamed.
- Strain or tear – left untreated, tendonitis can weaken a tendon and lead to chronic tendon degeneration or to a tendon tear.
What Should You Do if You Have Shoulder Pain?
Treatment and intervention
Most of the time, rest and physical therapy are the best treatment. Your doctor or a physical therapist will talk with you about specific exercises designed to help heal your injury, improve the flexibility of your rotator cuff and shoulder muscles, and provide balanced shoulder muscle strength. Depending on the severity of your injury, physical therapy may take from several weeks to several months.
Other rotator cuff injury treatments may include:
- Steroid injections – depending on the severity of your pain, your doctor may use a corticosteroid injection to relieve inflammation and pain.
- Surgery – if you have a large tear in your rotator cuff, you may need surgery to repair the tear. Sometimes during this kind of surgery, doctors may remove a bone spur or calcium deposits.
- Arthroplasty – some long-standing rotator cuff tears over time may contribute to the development of rotator cuff arthropathy, which can include severe arthritis. In such cases, your doctor may discuss with you more extensive surgical options, including partial shoulder replacement (hemiarthroplasty) or total shoulder replacement (arthroplasty)