Sports, Pain &
Regenerative Institute
Shoulder Pain Q & A
You can injure your shoulder by performing manual labor, playing sports, or even by repetitive movement. Certain diseases can bring about pain that travels to the shoulder. These include diseases of the cervical spine (neck), as well as liver, heart, or gallbladder disease.
It is more likely to have problems with your shoulder as you grow older, especially after age 60. 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.
Causes of Shoulder Pain
Most shoulder problems only affect a small area and should last a relatively short time. But sometimes the problem in your shoulder could be part of a wider, long-term condition such as, osteoarthritis or polymyalgia rheumatica.
It’s fairly common for people with rheumatoid arthritis to have pain and swelling in their shoulders. Osteoarthritis is less likely to affect your shoulders than other joints, unless you’ve injured them in the past.There are several other possible causes of shoulder pain, such as:
It’s also possible the pain you’re feeling in your shoulder is coming from a problem in another part ofyour body, such as your neck.
Problems in your neck can make your shoulder blade or upper outer arm painful. When this happens, it is known as referred pain or radiated pain. If you’re feeling a tingling sensation in your hand or arm, as well as pain in your shoulder, it’s likely to be from a problem in your neck.
Symptoms of Shoulder Pain