Signs Your Shoulder Pain Needs Help
Shoulder pain isn’t uncommon, but how do you know when to see your doctor? Here’s what you need to know.
A rotator cuff tear affects, on average, 2 million Americans every year. It can cause various symptoms, but how can you be sure you have one?
At Crescent City Orthopedics, our team of orthopedic surgeons and sports medicine specialists has the expertise and experience to diagnose and treat your rotator cuff tear. Before talking about your symptoms, we want you to understand what might be happening with your shoulder.
Your rotator cuff is surrounded by muscles and tendons that stabilize your shoulder joint. It promotes the lifting and rotation of your arms.
When your tendons fray and become damaged without severing, you have a partial tear, resulting in a tear.
If you have a full-thickness tear, your tendons detach entirely from the bone.
When you have a rotator cuff tear, the day’s simple routines, like combing your hair, can become quite painful with the lifting of your shoulder and arm.
Signs of a tear include:
If you suffer a tear from an injury, you might experience pain immediately. If your tear develops over time from overuse, you might feel discomfort gradually, but it can ultimately progress into sharper pain as it gets worse.
You might not feel any pain at all. However, you may still notice arm weakness.
Your rotator cuff tear without treatment can continue to get larger. If you experience any of the symptoms described, we may recommend image testing with X-rays, ultrasound, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology.
Once we have an accurate diagnosis, we offer two options for treatment:
Our nonsurgical recommendations for helping you heal include:
These options can relieve your pain and improve the movement of your shoulder.
If you have a severe tear, surgery may be the best choice for you. We can treat your injured shoulder arthroscopically, which allows us to see inside your shoulder and find the tear. We use tiny incisions and tools to perform your minimally-invasive procedure to repair your torn rotator cuff.
Our conservative approach offers you shortened recovery time, a reduced chance of complications, and less pain.
Have you injured your shoulder or noticed it feeling weak? If so, contact us at Crescent City Orthopedics. We can diagnose your condition and treat your pain effectively.
