Up to 70% of Americans develop shoulder pain at some point during their lives. It typically improves with conservative treatments, such as ice and rest, but if your symptoms last for days, or even weeks, identifying the cause is crucial.
You might equate shoulder pain with suffering an injury, but that isn’t necessarily the case.
At LiveWell Pain Management, interventional pain management physician Nora Taha, MD, takes a conservative, minimally invasive approach to treating shoulder pain. Here, we look at five common causes of shoulder pain that don’t come from an injury.
Shoulder pain refers to aching, stiffness, or general discomfort that affects one or both shoulders. The shoulder joints, which are some of the most active joints in your body, connect your arms to your torso and let you move your arms up, down, backward, and forward.
However, this incredible flexibility comes with a price — an increased risk of general wear-and-tear.
Since most shoulder pain comes from an injury, you might be tempted to think you’re not at risk if you’re not an athlete. In reality, shoulder pain can arise at any time, even without an injury.
Dr. Taha regularly treats shoulder pain caused by:
Rotator cuff tendonitis develops when the tendons in your rotator cuff — a soft tissue group that surrounds the shoulder joint — grow irritated and inflamed. This issue commonly affects throwing athletes, such as pitchers and quarterbacks, but it affects non-athletes, too.
The reason? The tendons that make up the rotator cuff experience stress regularly. Daily activities like combing your hair, opening cabinets, and brushing your teeth take a toll on these soft tissues. Over time, this affects their function and mobility, which can result in persistent shoulder pain.
Arthritis is a blanket term for more than 100 diseases that cause joint stiffness and swelling. Several types of arthritis can affect the shoulders, but the most common is osteoarthritis, also known as wear-and-tear arthritis.
Shoulder pain caused by arthritis is particularly common in people 50 and older. In fact, about 30% of people aged 60 and older have shoulder arthritis. Telltale signs include stiffness, difficulty sleeping, and popping or clicking noises when you move the affected shoulder.
Frozen shoulder is a painful condition that limits your shoulder joint’s movement. It occurs when the shoulder capsule, a strong, connective tissue that covers the shoulder joint, becomes thick and inflamed.
Researchers don’t know why frozen shoulder develops, but certain factors may increase your risk. For example, this type of shoulder pain commonly affects adults ages 40-60. Often, it occurs alongside other health problems, such as thyroid disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Modern technologies, such as smartphones, tablets, and computers, have made our lives easier, but they also contribute to bad posture. For example, you might hunch over when texting or slouch into your chair toward the end of a long workday.
These positional changes might not seem like a big deal, but they can place excess pressure on the soft tissues in your shoulders. For instance, shoulder impingement, a condition that occurs when your shoulder muscles get pinched by the surrounding bone, is often caused by poor posture.
Herniated discs occur when the soft, jelly-like center of an intervertebral disc pushes through the tough outer layer and places pressure on surrounding nerves or tissues. This can happen because of aging, general wear-and-tear, or an injury, like a car accident.
Although herniated discs typically cause back pain, their symptoms can extend to the shoulders depending on their location. If you experience shoulder pain that radiates into your back or neck and it occurs alongside other symptoms, like tingling and numbness, a herniated disc may be to blame.
Persistent shoulder pain can significantly affect mobility and quality of life, but you don’t have to suffer. Minimally invasive treatments like medical acupuncture, joint injections, and regenerative medicine can reduce inflammation, speed healing, and provide lasting relief.
To schedule shoulder pain treatment, call the nearest LiveWell Pain Management office in Elmwood Park (201-576-8269), Englewood (201-740-5581), or Paramus (201-778-6799), New Jersey, or request an appointment online.
