Shoulder pain is one of the most common pain that people face.
The shoulder has a versatile range of motion. When something goes wrong with your shoulder, it hampers your ability to move freely and causes immense pain and discomfort.
Injury to the shoulder is usually caused by performing manual labor, playing sports, or repetitive movement. Certain diseases can bring about pain that travels to the shoulder. These include diseases in the cervical spine (neck), liver, heart, or gallbladder.
People over the age of 60 are more likely to have shoulder pain problems. This is because the soft tissues surrounding the shoulder tend to degenerate with age.
In many cases, you can treat shoulder pain at home. However, physical therapy, medications, or surgery may also be necessary.
Here’s what you need to know about shoulder pain, including causes, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
Causes:
Several factors and conditions can contribute to shoulder pain. The most prevalent cause is rotator cuff tendinitis.
This is a condition characterized by swollen tendons. Another common cause of shoulder pain is impingement syndrome when the rotator cuff gets caught between the acromion (part of the scapula that covers the ball) and humeral head (the ball portion of the humerus).
Sometimes shoulder pain results from injury to another location in your body, usually the neck or biceps. This is known as referred pain. Referred pain generally doesn’t get worse when you move your shoulder.
Other causes of shoulder pain include:
- arthritis
- torn cartilage
- torn rotator cuff
- swollen bursa sacs or tendons
- bone spurs
- a pinched nerve in the neck or shoulder
- broken shoulder or arm bone
- frozen shoulder
- dislocated shoulder
- injury due to overuse or repetitive use
- spinal cord injury
- heart attack
When to seek medical help:
Contact your doctor if you:
- experience fever
- inability to move your shoulder
- lasting bruising
- heat and tenderness around the joint
- or pain that persists beyond a few weeks of home treatment.
Prevention:
Simple shoulder exercises can help stretch and strengthen muscles and rotator cuff tendons. A physical therapist or occupational therapist can show you how to do them properly.
If you’ve had previous shoulder issues, use ice for 15 minutes after exercising to prevent future injuries.
After having bursitis or tendinitis, performing simple range-of-motion exercises every day can keep you from getting a frozen shoulder.
Increase your flexibility with proper practice. Book your session today at HomeVillaYoga.
