The shoulder joint is your body’s most mobile joint. Your shoulder has a broad motion range and an unfortunate incident to the joint affects your mobility, resulting in pain and discomfort. Shoulder pain usually settles independently in days or weeks. However, if the pain fails to resolve and seems to worsen over time, you should contact an expert for medical evaluation. Medical Wellness Group’s skilled experts specialize in treating various debilitating conditions including shoulder pain in Columbus. The chiropractic team thrives in helping their patients experience relief from their symptoms with both regenerative medicine and traditional therapies. There are various causes of shoulder pain. The good news is, a proper diagnosis will help your doctor determine the best way to alleviate your painful symptoms and help you live pain-free.
Why are you Likely to Experience Shoulder Pain?
Your shoulder joint is a ball-and-socket joint comprising three major bones (humerus, scapula, and clavicle). Cartilages, muscles, and tendons cushion the bones, and a malfunction could result in pain. Though your shoulder pain will primarily be because of issues with your shoulder joint or the joint’s associated structures, several other conditions and factors could contribute to shoulder pain. You could experience pain because of an injury on your neck or biceps (referred pain). However, referred pain does not worsen with shoulder movement.
Apart from rotator cuff tendinitis, which is shoulder pain’s most prevalent cause, other contributing factors to shoulder pain include:
- Inflammation of your shoulder’s capsule
- Osteoarthritis
- Inflamed bursa
- Problems with your upper back and neck
- Injury to your axillary nerve
- Sprains and injuries
What Symptoms will you most Likely Have with Shoulder Pain?
Different causes of shoulder pains have unique symptoms. Depending on your pain’s cause, you may experience:
- Reduced joint movement
- Weakness in your shoulder and upper arm
- Burning and tingling sensation on the joint and its surrounding structures
- Pain especially when you move the affected shoulder
- Total immobility most often after a dislocation
- A snapping feeling when you move the shoulder
- Shoulder stiffness
How Will your Doctor Treat Shoulder Pain?
Most people do not need treatment to ease their pain. Your doctor might suggest an exercise-based rehabilitation and advise you to modify your lifestyle and work practices away from things that are likely to aggravate the pain for the joint’s better functioning.
Once your doctor has performed a diagnosis, he will devise a plan to start treating the condition and alleviate your symptoms. If your pain has no primary cause, the specialist will prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs, painkillers, and a physiotherapy course to ease your pain. In the instance that your pain is severe, the care provider may suggest cortisone injections. Your doctor could also recommend a surgical procedure if the pain fails to respond to conservative measures. Conditions that will force your doctor to perform a surgical procedure include:
- Frequent dislocations
- Rotator cuff tears
- Severe joint damage
Shoulder pain is common and sometimes the pain is not an indication of anything serious and will eventually fade away. However, you should contact your doctor immediately when the pain tends to radiate downwards towards your arm, or when the pain causes you to have a tight feeling across your chest, forcing you to have bated breath. Call your experts today to learn more about the available treatment options for shoulder pain.