Painful shoulder: prevention, causes and treatment

Written in association with: Mr Sathya Murthy
Published: | Updated: 07/06/2023
Edited by: Robert Smith

Many people will have a painful shoulder at least once in their lives and its causes can range from arthritis to accidents. As we get older, the probability of having a painful shoulder may be higher.

 

child-on-shoulders

 

Luckily, treatment options to soothe symptoms and often solve conditions causing a painful shoulder are available. We spoke about treatment recently with leading consultant orthopaedic surgeon, Mr Sathya Murthy. He let us know what symptoms such as clicking means and how shoulder pain can be prevented.

 

What are the main causes of a painful shoulder?


Some of the main causes of a painful shoulder include:

  • Impingement (rubbing of a tendon on bone)
  • Tears in the rotator cuff tendon
  • Arthritis in the shoulder joint and between the collar bone and shoulder blade (AC joint)
  • Frozen shoulder
  • Unstable shoulder
  • Pain referred from the neck, chest or abdomen

 

How can shoulder pain be prevented?


A lot of causes of shoulder pain cannot be prevented. However, sometimes it can be prevented by:

  • Maintaining balance and strength of the rotator cuff muscles
  • Good posture
  • Avoiding excessive overhead activity
     

What does a painful shoulder and clicking mean?

It depends on one’s age and activity. For a young person, it may, for example, be overuse at the gym causing tendonitis or bursitis. AC joint problems may be seen in keen gym attendees who enjoy shoulder and bench presses with very heavy weights

 

In a middle-aged person, it may be rubbing of the rotator cuff tendons on the acromion bone with or without a tear in the rotator cuff. In the older person, it might be arthritis in the shoulder joint or pain referred from elsewhere in the body.
 

What are some of the treatment options for a painful shoulder?

It would depend on the cause. A diagnosis needs to be made first of all by clinical assessment and investigations. Physiotherapy should be tried first of all, possibly with activity modification and anti-inflammatory medication.

 

Steroid injections are often very useful in the diagnosis and treatment. Surgery is the last resort, but is usually very successful in treating shoulder pain. This can be keyhole or open surgery, depending on the condition.
 

When should I seek advice from a medical specialist for shoulder pain?

If the pain is severe, especially at night, you should seek medical attention straight away. If you have associated fever or weight loss you should also seek urgent medical attention. In other circumstances, try resting the shoulder and taking anti-inflammatories for a week before seeking medical attention as it may settle on its own.


What are some of the surgical options for shoulder pain?
 

The main surgical options include:

  • Manipulation of the shoulder under anaesthetic for a frozen shoulder.
  • Keyhole or open surgery, depending on the condition.

 

Keyhole surgery can be very effective in patients who have had symptoms for more than 6 months, that have not responded to physiotherapy, rest and anti-inflammatory medication. This includes decompression for impingement of the rotator cuff tendons, ACJ excision for arthritis of the AC joint, repair of the rotator cuff tendons, releasing frozen shoulder and stabilisation of the unstable shoulder. Open surgery is indicated for arthritis of the shoulder joint, severe rotator cuff tears and complex instability.
 

 

 

If you’re suffering from shoulder pain, you may like to speak to a leading orthopaedic surgeon such as Mr Murthy. Visit his Top Doctors profile today for more information.

By Mr Sathya Murthy
Orthopaedic surgery

Mr Sathya Murthy is an extremely well-regarded and experienced consultant orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in shoulder surgery, shoulder replacement, rotator cuff repair, elbow surgery, knee replacement surgery, and hip replacement surgery. He currently practises privately at The Chaucer Hospital, the Spencer Private Hospital (Ashford), as well as the Spencer Private Hospital (Margate). 

After successfully completing his postgraduate orthopaedic training, which he first undertook in 1985, Mr Murthy went on to undertake both general and specialist training at some of the most prestigious and well-established hospitals throughout both the UK and Ireland. In 1999, he notably obtained a master's degree in orthopaedics from the University of Liverpool, and also an Intercollegiate Fellowship in Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery from said university in the same year. 

Mr Murthy gained an invaluable amount of experience and expertise in hip and knee replacement surgery whilst occupying the position as senior registrar at the Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital in Dublin. He has also undertaken sports fellowship training in shoulder and knee injuries at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospitals. Southampton University Hospital was where he completed his specialist training in knee reconstruction and knee replacement. He had the privilege of undergoing his fellowship with two past presidents of the British Elbow & Shoulder Society (BESS).  

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