Know your shoulders
Category
Your shoulders are not only the most mobile joint in your body, but they’re also one of the most unstable joints. Our shoulder joints are made up of bone, tendon, and ligaments. The ball of the upper arm (the humerus) is larger than the socket that holds it which means the shoulder relies on muscles, tendons, and ligaments to keep the shoulder in a normal position. This leads to instability and makes the shoulders easily injured.
Because of this instability, shoulder injuries are common and are caused by athletic injuries, physical strain from work, falls, aging, and everyday wear and tear.
Anyone from teenage athletes, office workers, and grandparents can get a shoulder injury.
What should you do if you have shoulder pain?
For occasional minor aches and pains, you can treat them at home with ice, heat, over-the-counter pain-relieving pills, and topical pain relievers like creams, gels sprays, and patches.
If at home treatment doesn’t resolve your pain you may need to explore other treatment options such as provider administered medications, physical therapy, or surgery.
Call your primary care provider if you:
- Have shoulder pain with a fever, swelling, or redness
- Significant shoulder pain
- Pain that lasts more than 2-4 weeks even after home treatment
- Swelling or red or blue coloring of the skin in the shoulder area
Treating shoulder pain
Sometimes we can’t treat our shoulder pain at home and need to try other things. The first step you can take if at-home treatment doesn’t help is to contact your primary care provider to document the pain and discuss early treatment options. If self-care measures like resting, light exercise, and treating with NSAIDS at home isn’t helping, you may be referred for other treatments like injectable anti-inflammatory medicine called corticosteroids or physical/occupational therapy.
If all other treatments don’t help, you may need to consider surgery. If you need surgery for shoulder pain, you likely will need to seek the care of an orthopedic surgeon. You can ask your primary care team to refer you to a surgeon or contact the office of an orthopedic surgeon to schedule a consultation.
Your doctor may recommend surgery if:
- Your tendon tissue is strong and healthy
- There is a chance the injury will worsen over time
- Your injury is due to a forceful impact such as from a car accident or sport impact
- You have severe shoulder pain or weakness
- You have not gotten better after 3-6 months of other treatment of physical therapy
Surgery for shoulder pain
Some common shoulder surgeries include:
- Rotator Cuff Repair
- Total Shoulder Replacement
- Reverse Total Shoulder Replacement
- Partial Shoulder Replacement
Surgery can improve your pain and mobility if no other treatment options have helped. Talk to your care team about surgery if you’ve tried other treatments but have seen minimal improvement.
If you aren’t sure you’re ready for surgery or don’t have a care plan, talk to your primary care team to decide what options are best for you.
