Shoulder Pain
Most Common Causes
The shoulder joint is one of the most mobile joints of your body. The wide range of motion of the shoulder across multiple planes makes it prone to injury. Some of the common causes of shoulder pain are:
- Trauma
- Manual labor
- Sports activities
- Any kind of repetitive movement involving the shoulder joint
- Age-related wear and tear of the shoulder joint
This can result in:
- Rotator cuff tendonitis or tears: Inflammation or tearing of the group of tendons that surround and support the shoulder
- Impingement syndrome: Compression of a nerve in the shoulder
- Frozen shoulder: Pain and stiffness due to injury
- Degenerative joint disease
- Shoulder dislocation, instability, or fractures
Occasionally, shoulder pain may be experienced along with a serious condition such as a heart attack or a spinal cord injury. This is known as referred shoulder pain.
When to seek medical help
If resting and avoiding any activity that aggravates your pain does not improve your condition, you should seek professional medical help.
Diagnosis
A diagnosis of the underlying cause of your pain will be made by your doctor based on:
- Discussion of symptoms
- Medical history
- Physical examination
- Imaging studies
Treatment
The treatment will depend on the cause of your pain. The various treatment options include:
- Rest
- Applications of ice
- Activity modification
- Pain medication
- Pain injections
- Shoulder immobilization with the use of a sling
- Corticosteroids
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Surgery
Prevention
It may be prevented by:
- Performing shoulder exercises which help strengthen and stretch the muscles and supporting structures within the shoulder joint
- Properly warming up the shoulder before any strenuous activity
- Limiting the amount of repetitive overhead shoulder movement