Hi Reader! If You are reading this, then there are fair chances that either You or any of Your loved one is having shoulder pain or You are an avid health reader.

Kudos to You for caring that much!

In this article, You will be having an internal view of the shoulder joint & the possible causes that you are experiencing this kind of pain.

Anatomy/Internal View of the Shoulder Joint

Your Shoulder Joint is a combination of three bones mainly, which are:

• Your Arm Bone (Humerus) Though it’s not that humorous when it pains! Anyways..

• Second is your shoulder blade named as scapula, which provides a surface to your arm bone on which it can glide freely thus providing you a great freedom of movement in your daily activities like reaching overhead, balling, pushing and punching movements etc.

• The third one is our collarbone, which adds to the stability, than mobility.

This whole setup of bones is covered snugly by the group of muscles called as rotator cuff, which covers it from all sides except downwards, which is why, more shoulder dislocations occur inferiorly (downwards) due to the lack of support there.

Whole set of cartilage & capsules & tendons(endings of muscles which attach them to bones) are surrounding the shoulder joint.

Causes

1. Soft Tissue Pathologies – The soft tissues surrounding the shoulder joint, get inflamed and thus swollen leading to pain while movement & rest, bursitis, tendonitis, impingement syndrome (soft tissue gets sandwiched between two bones), rotator cuff injury etc.

2. Fractures – Sometimes, hairline fractures occur with just a little trauma & the fractures are medical emergencies, which need to be taken care of immediately.

3. Sprain – The pulling or stretching of a muscle is called as sprain, it can occur while throwing something with great force or trying to reach out farther than possible (like a couch potato wants to reach for a remote on the table without moving an inch from its place!)

4. Frozen Shoulder – As the name suggests, the shoulder becomes stiff & the movements are restricted and painful. It is more common in people suffering from diabetes and also in 40-50 years of age group. Pain at night is a common symptom.

5. Arthritis – With age, or after recovering from a trauma, the bones start to degenerate and the cartilage starts eroding thus leading to arthritis of the joints, the pain intensity varies and depends upon the level of arthritis and its stage.

6. Dislocations – This one is obvious most of the times, but sometimes the patient just holds the dislocated shoulder with his/her other hand and doesn’t allow anyone to touch it, occurs mostly with children, teenagers and elderly people.

7. Heart Attack – Last, but certainly not the least, as this is a medical emergency, but before you panic, let me tell you, that it’s often accompanied by

– Shortness of Breath

–  Sweating

–  Chest Pain

–  Jaw Pain etc.

But, yes, less symptomatic ones are also there.

So , A little check-up by a doctor won’t harm You!

Wishing You all Good Health and relief from that nasty shoulder pain & stay tuned for more!

Did you find the article informative or helpful?

Have a query about your pain, book appointment with Dr Sumit Badhwar! Or You can leave your queries in the comment section below.

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