What Is Shoulder Pain?
The shoulder has a wide and versatile range of motion. When
something goes wrong with your shoulder, it hampers your ability to move freely
and can cause a great deal of pain and discomfort.
The shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint that has three main
bones: the humerus (long arm bone), the clavicle (collarbone), and the scapula
(also known as the shoulder blade). These bones are cushioned by a layer of
cartilage.
The
shoulder joint is the most mobile joint in the body. It moves the shoulder
forward and backward and also allows the arm to move in a circular motion, and
to move up and away from the body.
Shoulders get their range of motion from the rotator cuff, which is made up of four
tendons. Tendons are the tissues that connect muscles to bone. If the tendons
or bones around the rotator cuff suffer damage or swelling, you may find it
painful and difficult to lift your arm up over your head.
The
shoulder can be injured by performing manual labor, playing sports, or even by
repetitive movement. Certain diseases can bring about pain that travels to the
shoulder, such as disease of the cervical spine of the neck, as well as liver,
heart, or gallbladder disease.
You are
more likely to have problems with your shoulder as you grow older, especially
after age 60. This is because the soft tissues surrounding the shoulder tend to
degenerate with age.
In many
cases, shoulder pain can be treated at home. Depending on the cause, physical
therapy, medications, or surgery may be necessary.
What Causes Shoulder Pain?
A number of factors and conditions can contribute to shoulder
pain. The most prevalent cause is rotator cuff tendinitis, a
condition where the tendons are inflamed.
Sometimes shoulder pain is the result of injury to another
location in your body — usually the neck or bicep. This is called referred
pain. Referred pain generally does not get worse upon movement of the
shoulder.
Common causes of shoulder pain include, but are not
limited to:
- · arthritis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, septic
arthritis
- ·
bursitis (swelling of the bursa sacs, which protect the
shoulder)
- ·
tendinitis (swelling of tendons)
- ·
bone spurs (bony projections that develop along the edges of
bones)
- ·
torn cartilage
- ·
torn rotator cuff
- ·
pinched nerves
- ·
broken shoulder bone
- ·
broken arm
- ·
frozen shoulder (when tendons, ligaments, and muscles stiffen
and become difficult or impossible to move)
- ·
repetitive use or overuse injury of nearby areas, such as the
bicep
- ·
shoulder separation (when ligaments that hold the collarbone and
shoulder blade together are torn, causing the collarbone to be out of place)
- ·
dislocated shoulder (when the ball of the humerus is pulled out
of the shoulder socket)
- ·
spinal cord injury
- ·
heart attack
Self-Treatment Tips:
Some minor shoulder pain can be treated at home. Icing the
shoulder for 15 to 20 minutes, three or four times a day for two to three days
can help reduce pain. Use an ice bag or wrap ice in a towel (putting ice
directly on your skin can cause frostbite).
Other home treatments include:
·
resting the shoulder for several days before returning to normal
activity and avoiding any movements that might cause pain
·
using over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory
medications to help reduce pain and inflammation
·
compressing the area with an elastic bandage to reduce swelling
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