The shoulders are one of the intricate supreme joints in our body. It is composed of ligaments, muscles, tendons and a ball and socket joint. The rotator cuff made up of four tendons allows the shoulders to make different types of movements. We use our shoulders for various movements throughout the day.
So, any pain in our shoulder makes even the simple everyday works seem very difficult. It is hard to let muscles injuries in or near the shoulders go unnoticed.
Causes
Various reasons are responsible for our shoulder pain. These can occur even from simple injuries. Inflamed tendons, damage in the rotator cuffs or even pulled muscles are enough to cause immense pain in the shoulders.
Injuries in the surrounding areas of our body, i.e., the arm and the skin, can also result in pain in the shoulder. Many a time, people who are into weightlifting and do strenuous exercise daily have also suffered shoulder injuries more than once.
However, these are just minor injuries. Sometimes, we get confused between minor shoulder injuries and serious ones. Some severe injuries or conditions that cause immense pain in the shoulder are –
1. Septic Arthritis:
Septic arthritis occurs when your shoulder joint gets infected by bacteria, fungi or viruses. This infection attacks the fluid and causes significant inflammation. This infection mostly strikes those people who have diabetes, sickle cell disease, severe immune system problems or consume alcohol.
The symptoms of Septic Arthritis are shoulder pain, fever, swelling, fever, chills, and warmth in the infected area. If you have been showing these symptoms, you should immediately consult a doctor. Septic Arthritis is a severe disease and can even lead to death.
Specific tests are carried out for the shoulder pain diagnosis for which they need to take the fluid sample from our body.
2. Fracture:
Broken or fractured bones are one of the significant causes of shoulder pain. Falling from a standing height or getting hit, but a speeding car can often result in fractures.
The patient, in this case, experienced severe pain, swelling, numbness and bruising. You should check in a hospital and get your hand plastered as the first few steps of treatment for a fractured bone.
3. Dislocated Shoulder:
When a bone somehow slips out of its socket, it is known as a dislocation. Shoulders are the most common parts of our body for dislocated bones because of their high mobility. Dislocated shoulder seeks immediate medical attention.
If left without treatment, it can cause significant damage to the nerves, blood vessels, and ligaments. The results of a dislocated shoulder are severe shoulder pain, numbness, bruising and wobbliness in the shoulder.
4. Osteomyelitis:
This is a type of infection that attacks the bone. Both young and older people can get this infection. It can cause severe bone damage if left untreated. Some symptoms of osteomyelitis are infected area turning red, fever, chills, stiffness, and inability to use that limb.
Drug users, diabetic people, smokers, people with sickle cell anaemia, artificial limbs and peripheral arterial disease have higher chances of getting this infection.
5. Adhesive capsulitis of shoulder:
Adhesive capsulitis is a shoulder, which is also known as frozen shoulder. Some health conditions that increase the possibility of having a heart attack are diabetes, cardiac diseases, hyperthyroidism, and hypothyroidism.
If you have right shoulder pain or left shoulder pain, it might be a frozen shoulder. As time goes by, the pain reduces; however, it takes years to go away for some.
6. Heart Attacks:
Even though the first symptom that comes to our mind when we talk about a heart attack is chest pain, shoulder pain is one of the most experienced signs of a heart attack. If the cause for the pain in your shoulder is a heart attack, you experience both pains in the shoulder and arm.
7. Thoracic Outlet Syndrome:
The thoracic outlet is the space between the first rib bone and the collarbone. Thoracic outlet syndrome is when the nerves in the thoracic outlet get compressed, making us feel like we have a broken collarbone.
This feeling of increased pressure resulting in shoulder pain and pain in other adjacent parts of our body. The symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome are cold hands and feet, lightweight, and the inability to lift objects over your head.
8. Whiplash:
This is when our neck experiences a sudden movement. When this happens, the ligaments and muscles in our neck get extended more than their standard limit. Even though we consider whiplash a very mild issue, the pain can last very long and can be very intense.
Treatments
Various treatments depend on the severity of shoulder pain. If the cause of suffering is straightforward and can be easily treated, you can try some home remedies.
1. ICE PACKS:
If the shoulder pain is due to strained ligaments and tendons, ice is a perfect solution. Ice cubes relax the blood flow to the area and bring relief. Applying ice on your shoulder three or four times a day can quickly remove the pain and make you feel better.
2. MINDFUL NECK MOVEMENTS:
Shoulder pain can often be affected by neck movements too. You can do gentle neck stretches at home to get some relief from pain in your shoulders. You can also try using new pillows and mattresses to get rid of the pain.
3. STRESS RELIEVE:
Stress is the root of lots of our problems, including muscle pain. Getting rid of stress allows us to get rid of the contributing factor to the pain. Try to relax your shoulders and avoid carrying heavy weight. Maintain proper posture and sleeping positions, too, so that they have the minimum effect on your muscles.
For other pressing issues, you should follow the methods that your doctor prescribes for you. Your physician might prescribe you anti-inflammatory medications, which help reduce the swelling in the affected area and ease the pain.
The doctor might also recommend over-counter pain medications if the pain is severe. Another thing that doctors do in severe pain is to make the pain in the affected area numb. They use steroids or cortisol injections for this purpose which also lessens the inflammation of the muscles.
Exercise, medication, change in daily activities, and enough rest is enough to give relief to ninety per cent of the people suffering from shoulder pain. However, the remaining ten per cent may have to undergo surgery to cure major shoulder issues. If the pain in the shoulder is due to tearing the rotator cuff a few times or frequent dislocation of the shoulder, simple exercises are not enough. For them, you have to undergo surgery for this to get cured completely.
