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Your shoulder can move in more directions than any other joint in your body. With a ball at the top of your upper arm that fits into a socket in your shoulder blade, the rotator cuff allows reaching the top shelf, throwing a baseball, scooping up a baby from the floor and even scratching your back.
With so many uses — and so much use — your shoulder can be prone to wear and tear, injury and pain.
Shoulder pain can strike at any age. Young athletes injure a shoulder or overuse it. Those who are older are prone to developing arthritis. One of the most common forms of shoulder pain starts in the shoulder and radiates down the arm or toward the neck. This type of pain is sometimes known as subacromial pain, referring to the space between the top of the upper arm bone and the shoulder blade.
If your shoulder pain has persisted more than a week, worsens or wakes you up, it’s time to make an appointment with a health care professional.
Arm, upper back and neck pain all can be signs of a heart attack.
While surgery, or even shoulder replacement, may be necessary in severe cases, shoulder pain often can be treated successfully with anti-inflammatory medicine, corticosteroid injection and physical therapy.
The shoulder specialists at Norton Orthopedic Institute have the experience and knowledge to identify conservative treatments, typically with lower cost, that can be effective for your condition. Norton Orthopedic Institute shoulder specialists use sophisticated imaging and other diagnostic tools to pinpoint the cause of your pain. Then, working with you, they’ll develop a personalized treatment and rehabilitation plan to help restore motion and ease pain.
Norton Orthopedic Institute’s board-certified and fellowship-trained surgeons are at the forefront of using minimally invasive techniques and robotics for precision. Nonsurgical orthopedic specialists are trained and experienced in the latest approaches to relieving bone and joint pain without surgery. Sports medicine specialists help athletes and other active adults recover from injury, prevent reinjury and get back to moving without pain.
Shoulder pain making things uncomfortable? Complete our Shoulder Assessment to see if it’s time to see a Norton Orthopedic Institute provider.
The assessment takes a few minutes to gauge your next step
Parts of your shoulder are more tender to touch than others, and pain is likely on the outside or top of the shoulder. This kind of pain is typically a sign of inflammation associated with tendinitis or bursitis.
The four tendons in the rotator cuff are susceptible to inflammation (tendinitis) or tears. Pain from the rotator cuff is most apparent when reaching overhead. Bursitis —inflammation of the shoulder bursa — is also a common source of shoulder pain. Bursae, located in joints throughout the body, are small fluid-filled sacs that cushion between bones and soft tissue like a tendon.
The muscles and tendons that make up the rotator cuff help keep the top of your arm bone securely in the shoulder socket. A rotator cuff injury is more likely to happen with overuse in occupations that require repeated overhead motions. Physical therapy often improves flexibility and strength. A rotator cuff tear from a specific injury may need minimally invasive surgery — often to reattach a rotator cuff tendon to the top of your arm bone.
Biceps tendons connect the top of your biceps muscle to the shoulder joint. The tendon can become inflamed from overuse, especially from throwing, a golf swing and overhead tennis serves. Rest, ice, physical therapy and steroid injections are the first options in treatment. If the condition continues for three months, minimally invasive surgery may be needed.
This is a tear in the tendon and is usually the result of an injury. You may have heard and felt a “pop” in your shoulder. You may notice pain when you flip your hand from palm down to palm up. Treatment of ice, rest and anti-inflammatory medication is typically sufficient. Minimally invasive surgery may be needed if these steps don’t succeed or in cases of athletes and workers whose sport or occupation requires complete recovery of shoulder strength.
Frozen shoulder, more formally known as adhesive capsulitis, refers to stiffness and pain caused by a thickening and tightening of the ligaments that hold your shoulder in place. The cause of frozen shoulder isn’t clear. It typically begins with increased pain and limited motion, then stiffness develops before a gradual improvement begins.
Treatment typically includes physical therapy and pain-relief medication.
This occurs when the outer edge of you shoulder blade impinges on the rotator cuff tendons. An injury can cause the rotator cuff to swell, but in such a confined space, the swelling can limit its movement. Athletes and others who repetitively use overhead motions are susceptible to shoulder impingement syndrome. Ice, rest, anti-inflammatory medication, steroid injections and physical therapy take care of most shoulder impingement syndrome cases. If that doesn’t work, surgery to remove part of the shoulder blade bone to free up more space for the rotator cuff may be an option.
Years as a competitive baseball and softball player wore Percy Reynolds’ shoulder down to the bone. But a co-worker led Percy to Louisville for a game-changing procedure.
Moving your shoulder feels like grinding with clicking or cracking sensations. There’s a deep, aching pain and stiffness. This sounds like arthritis, also known as osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis in the shoulder usually affects people over age 50. After years of use, the cartilage in the shoulder’s ball-and-socket joint wears down. Once smooth, the cartilage can become frayed and rough. Bones can rub against each other, causing pain.
Osteoarthritis also can develop after a fracture or dislocation injury. Conservative treatment involves rest, ice, anti-inflammatory medication and physical therapy. Shoulder replacement surgery may be needed in more severe cases.
Once you’ve dislocated your shoulder, you are vulnerable to it happening again. When shoulder dislocation happens frequently, it’s known as shoulder instability. Loose or torn ligaments, tendons or muscles allow the shoulder to slip out of the joint repeatedly. Nonsurgical treatment such as limiting activity, physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medication may take several months to show results.
If surgery is required, the type of minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery will depend on the cause of your shoulder instability — the joint capsule may need tightening, or a torn labrum may need a Bankart repair. If you need a bone graft to repair the socket, the procedure is done with conventional open surgery.
Three bones make up the shoulder joint: upper arm, shoulder blade and collarbone. Nondisplaced fractures — where the bones remain in the proper position — make up most shoulder fracture cases and typically can be treated nonsurgically. When the bones are broken into pieces and move out of position, surgery may be required to put the bones back in place.
Falls, auto accidents and sports injuries can tear the ligaments between the shoulder blade and the collarbone. Torn ligaments mark the difference between a dislocated shoulder and a separated shoulder. Nonsurgical recovery from a separated shoulder can take a few weeks to a few months with your arm in a sling, treated with ice and anti-inflammatory medication. Surgery to reattach ligaments may be required in more serious cases.
The labrum is soft tissue that helps hold the ball-and-socket shoulder joint together. It’s attached the to the socket and wraps around the top of the arm bone or “ball.” Several ligaments in the shoulder also attach to the labrum. There are many different ways the labrum can tear, and treatment will depend on your specific injury. Often, the labrum needs to be reattached to the rim of the socket in a minimally invasive, arthroscopic surgery.
When the ball of the shoulder joint comes out of the socket, a common side effect is a tear in the labrum. The labrum is the soft tissue that surrounds the socket. This specific tear is called a Bankart lesion. We first treat it with rest and over-the-counter medication. Physical therapy can help restore motion once the pain subsides. Surgery may be needed for persistent Bankart lesion pain.
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Copays or fees are typically due at the time of service. If you have insurance, your copay amount will depend on your plan. For self-pay patients, the cost of a visit typically ranges from $100 to $250, depending on the services provided. There may be additional charges for services such as lab tests or X-rays.
If you have questions about your bill or need assistance with payment options, you can contact Norton Healthcare customer service at (502) 479-6300 or (800) 874-3979.