Shoulder Pain

Dealing With Shoulder Injuries?

Check out this video to see how it's caused.

What You Need To Know

The term "Rotator cuff" describes a section of four muscles that keep your shoulder held together in its shallow socket while larger muscles move it.

Strains and injuries in the rotator cuff are typically the most common cause of people experiencing shoulder problems, accounting for 4.5 million doctor visits per year. Injuries are classified by the amount of damage as "partial tears", "full-thickness tears" or "ruptures".

A "partial tear" is the result of one side of your tendon been partially frayed. A "full-thickness tear", sometimes called a "complete tear", is when there is a hole or slit in your tendon, much like what would be created by running a knife length-wise down a rope. A "rupture" is the most severe form of injury and it means that your tendon has been torn into two pieces.

This is why you feel pain.

Less than 10% of rotator cuff tears are the direct result of an acute injury like falling, pushing, pulling, throwing or lifting.

The overwhelming majority of injuries are caused by repetitive strains over a long period of time. One of the most common reasons that people start to develop a rotator cuff tear is something called "impingement". Impingement essentially means that the section where your rotator cuff tendon lives have simply become too crowded and the rotator cuff tendon is being pinched each time you raise your arm.

People who perform repeated overhead activities are usually at the greatest risk for impingement and rotator cuff tendon problems. This usually includes athletes who play baseball, volleyball, tennis, rowing, weight lifting, swimming and archery, and jobs that include carpentry, painting, wallpaper hanging, cleaning windows and washing/waxing cars. Other forms of risk factors for rotator cuff problems include smoking, obesity and prior cortisone injection.

Here Are The Symptoms

Patients who have suffered an acute rotator cuff injury often report a "tearing" or "snapping" sound and sensation that is followed by severe pain and weakness.

Most chronic strains start silently with symptoms slowly becoming more evident as the tear progresses. Pain is usually found in the front and outside of your shoulder but can also sometimes radiate down your arm.

Symptoms are usually aggravated by overhead activity and may progress to the point that you have difficulty raising your arm overhead. Pain is typically made worse at night, especially when you lie on the impacted area of your shoulder. Be sure to tell us if you suffer from significant neck pain, shortness of breath, chest pain or chest pressure.

How We Treat It

Young patients who have suffered an acute tear or rupture in many cases will require surgery, while most others will benefit from conservative treatments, such as the ones offered in this office.

Our first goal is to establish a proper diagnosis. Shoulder pain has many different causes and we must establish where the pain is coming from before we can appropriately treat it. Shoulder pain from rotator cuff injuries or arthritis usually responds well to therapeutic modalities, laser or acupuncture. Once the pain is under control we will prescribe an individualized exercise program to strengthen and stabilize your shoulder.

​​​​​​​You can get relief.

Become pain-free when you book a visit today.

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1. Meet With Us

2. Create A Plan

3. Let's Execute the Plan Together.