Your shoulder has a wide and versatile range of motion. Therefore, when something goes wrong with your shoulder, it hinders your ability to move freely and can cause a great deal of pain, discomfort and makes you question “Why my back shoulder bone hurts?”.
Your shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint that has three prominent bones:
- The humerus or long arm bone
- The clavicle or collarbone
- The scapula or the shoulder blade
A layer of cartilage protects these bones. Mainly, there are two joints, and the acromioclavicular joint is in-between the highest part of the scapula and the clavicle. As with the scapula’s outer edge and the humerus’ ball-shaped top, the glenohumeral joint connects the two. The shoulder joint is another name for this joint.
The shoulder joint is the most mobile joint in the entire body, and it moves the shoulder forward and backward. It also authorizes the arm to move in a circular motion and all other directions.
It gets its range of motion from the rotator cuff, which comprises four tendons.
You can hurt your shoulder by conducting excessive manual labor, playing sports, or even by repetitive movement. Certain diseases can cause pain that travels to the shoulder, including cervical spine (neck) and liver, heart, or gallbladder disease.
Moreover, your shoulders will also become problematic when you reach 60, and it is because your shoulder’s soft tissues degenerate as you age. Mostly, you can treat shoulder pain at home, and however, physical therapy, medications, or surgery may also be helpful.
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Cause of Shoulder Pain
Several factors and conditions can cause shoulder pain. The most prevalent cause, however, is rotator cuff tendinitis.
It is a condition with swollen tendons. One more common cause of shoulder pain is impingement syndrome. The rotator cuff gets caught between the acromium, which is the part of the scapula surrounding the ball, and the humeral head, which is the ball portion of the humerus.
At times, shoulder pain can result from injury to another location in your body, like the neck or biceps. This is called referred pain, and it generally does not worsen when you move your shoulder.
More causes of shoulder pain include:
- Arthritis
- Torn cartilage
- Torn rotator cuff
- Swollen bursa sacs or tendons
- Bone spurs
- A pinched nerve in the neck or shoulder
- Broken shoulder or arm bone
- Frozen shoulder
- Dislocated shoulder
- Injury due to overuse or repetitive use
- Spinal cord injury
- Heart attack
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Seeking Medical Help
If you get a fever, inability to move your shoulder, lasting bruising, heat and tenderness around the joint, or ache that stays more than a few weeks of home treatment, you should contact your doctor.
However, if your shoulder pain is sudden and not related to an injury, you need to go to the hospital ASAP as it may be a sign of a heart attack. Other symptoms of a heart attack include:
- Trouble breathing
- Chest tightness
- Dizziness
- Excessive sweating
- Pain in the neck or jaw
Treatments of Shoulder Pain
Shoulder pain treatments depend on the cause and severity of the pain. Standard treatment options include physical or occupational therapy, a sling or shoulder immobilizer, or surgery.
Your doctor can also prescribe medications (NSAIDs) or corticosteroids. Be mindful that corticosteroids are powerful anti-inflammatory drugs your doctor can inject into your shoulder, or you can take in the form of a pill.
You need to be vigilant in taking proper care of your shoulder if you had surgery.
Minor shoulder pain can be treated at home, such as icing the shoulder for 15 to 20 minutes three or four times a day for a couple of days can help reduce pain. However, you should not put ice directly on your skin as it can cause frostbite. Therefore, it is better to use an ice bag or wrap the ice in a towel.
Moreover, giving proper rest to the shoulder for several days before returning to regular activity and avoiding any moves that might cause pain can be beneficial.
Other home treatments are using over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications to ease pain and inflammation and compressing the area with an elastic bandage to lessen swelling.
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Preventing Shoulder Pain
You should try simple shoulder exercises that can help stretch and strengthen muscles and rotator cuff tendons. A physical therapist can guide you on how to do them properly. It is always better to consult professionals for your injuries rather than implementing yourself without knowledge. Book an appointment with the best Orthopedic in Lahore through Marham for more information.
