The truth about shoulder pain treatment options

4-minute read

After a weekend of changing batteries in your smoke detectors and cleaning up the garage, you feel an ache in your shoulder that grows into a pain as time passes. Maybe you need shoulder pain treatment, but what kind?

According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, millions of Americans seek medical care for shoulder pain each year. Get your shoulder back in motion by understanding the causes of discomfort and your treatment options.

How your shoulder works

Inside the shoulder joint is a group of bones, muscles, and tendons. Your upper arm bone rests inside the shoulder blade, creating a ball and socket joint. These bones, muscles, and tendons allow you to move your shoulder.

If any part of the shoulder gets injured, you'll likely experience pain, sometimes so strong it may become difficult to move your arm. In some cases, untreated shoulder pain can make it nearly impossible to perform daily tasks or even lift your arm above your head.

Common causes of shoulder pain

Before starting shoulder pain treatment, you'll need a diagnosis. Your provider will perform a physical and may order an X-ray or other imaging exam to get a clear view of what's causing the problem. Common shoulder conditions include:

• Broken bones. Falls, automobile accidents, and sports trauma can all result in broken shoulder bones. Pain, swelling, and deformity are common symptoms.
  
• Bursitis. Bursae are small, fluid-filled sacs that serve as padding between bones and soft tissue. Bursae can become inflamed and swollen with overuse, making it difficult to do simple tasks such as brushing your teeth.
  
• Dislocation. A dislocation occurs when the upper arm gets dislodged from the shoulder socket. You may experience partial or total dislocation. Both are painful.
  
• Frozen shoulder. Tissue surrounding the shoulder joint grows abnormally thick, causing a painful tightening and stiffening that makes it difficult to move your shoulder.
  
• Osteoarthritis. As the most common arthritis affecting the shoulder, osteoarthritis causes pain, stiffness, and swelling. Osteoarthritis may limit your movement over time as the pain increases.
  
• Rotator cuff tears. This common cause of pain and disability occurs when the shoulder tendon partly or completely pulls away from bone.
  
• Tendinitis. Arthritis, the wear and tear of age, or overuse can inflame your rotator cuff tendons. When this occurs, you have rotator cuff tendinitis.

Conservative shoulder pain treatment

Today, there are many shoulder pain treatments available. Appropriate care depends on your specific condition and the severity of your shoulder problem.

No matter what bothers your shoulder, you'll likely want to start with conservative treatment. Nonsurgical treatment options that may bring temporary or lasting relief include:

• Ice and heat. You may find relief from shoulder tightness and pain with a heating pad or hot shower. If you're experiencing swelling around your shoulder, treat it with ice. Apply the ice three or four times a day for 20 minutes at a time.
  
• Lifestyle changes. If certain activities cause your pain to flare up, avoid doing them or try to find new techniques that help you prevent further irritation.
  
• Medications. Anti-inflammatory drugs reduce pain and inflammation. If over-the-counter options don't do the trick, your provider may prescribe something. Steroid injections and other medications may also help.
  
• Physical therapy. Also used to recover after shoulder surgery, physical therapy (PT) is sometimes a first-line treatment for shoulder pain. Through PT, you perform shoulder exercises to increase your shoulder's strength and flexibility, reducing pain in the process.
  
• Rest. Often, resting your hurting shoulder helps. Over time, the pain may go away, allowing you to return to normal life.

Shoulder surgery options

When conservative shoulder pain treatment doesn't bring relief, you may need surgery. At Reid Health, we use minimally invasive techniques whenever possible. We operate through small incisions, which provide positive results, minimal scarring, reduced hospital stays, and faster recovery.

We also offer robotic-assisted surgeries when appropriate. Our robot gives surgeons a 3D view of your shoulder. Robotic-assisted surgery reduces hospital stays and complications better than other surgical techniques.

Shoulder surgeries offered at Reid include:

• Rotator cuff repair: The surgeon reattaches the torn tendon to the bone. If the tendon is not detached, the surgeon can repair the damaged tendon.
  
• Total shoulder replacement: The surgeon removes damaged parts of your shoulder and replaces them with artificial parts.

When shoulder pain is an emergency

Most of the time, shoulder pain isn't an emergency. It may heal on its own with rest, ice, and avoiding certain activities. If the pain lasts two weeks or longer, your provider may prescribe other treatments.

Sometimes, however, you shouldn't wait for treatment. Shoulder pain requires emergency medical attention in the following situations:

• It's unbearable: Contact your clinician if you experience intense pain you can't ignore and doesn't improve with rest, ice, heat, and over-the-counter pain medications.
  
• It has no explainable cause: Extreme chest pain isn't the only symptom of a heart attack. It can also cause unexplainable shoulder pain.
  
• There is a deformity: If something pokes out of your shoulder area, don't wait to see if it fixes on its own. It probably won't.
  
• You felt or heard a break: Broken bones should get evaluated as soon as possible for quick treatment that ensures the bone heals properly.

Need expert shoulder pain treatment? The Reid Health Comprehensive Bone & Joint Center has you covered.