Tag: managing shoulder pain

Managing Shoulder Pain Medication Safely

Pain medication is one of the great conveniences of modern life, but it can also be a double-edged sword. People who don’t know how to use this medication properly, or who accidentally mix it with contraindicated compounds, can find themselves running into problems that dwarf the original injury.

Shoulder pain is one of the most common complaints that send people to the store for these pain medications. Now recent research suggests that a surprising number of people fail to heed the printed warnings about mixing analgesics with other prescriptions:

The survey questioned 1,015 U.S. adults and 251 gastroenterologists about OTC medicine practices. Results show that people who take OTC medicines for chronic pain often mix the medicines with other drugs, view label instructions as general suggestions, ignore signs of an overdose, and fail to mention their OTC medicine use in conversations with doctors.

Caution is the watchword here. If you’re already on a daily or weekly medication, be sure to check all the warnings, even if it’s something as “harmless” as aspirin or acetaminophen. And if your pain persists longer than a few weeks, visit an  for a consultation.

Better Treatment for Shoulder Injuries

Shoulder injuries can be notoriously complicated to rehab, especially when the injury involves multiple musculoskeletal systems. It is no wonder that an entire industry has cropped up to handle therapy and rehabilitation for injuries such as these, as shoulder recovery can be an exacting science.

Now some medical researchers believe they may have found a better way: robot rehab. A new line of exoskeleton systems designed to learn and repeat specific motions has proven a boon to some patients i physical therapy for shoulder pain:

According to the main researcher, Cecilia García Cena, simulating the skeletal system is not enough to develop this exoskeleton, it is needed to incorporate both the kinematics and dynamics of a complete model that takes into account the skeletal system, muscles, tendons and ligaments. All these elements are included in the new intelligent robotic system.

Time will tell if this system is versatile enough for different injuries, or whether it proves safe in larger trials. Still, this announcement is a harbinger of the time when physical therapy can be done in the home, safely and alone.

If your shoulder pain won’t go away and your robot steward has the day off, please contact the San Diego orthopedic offices of Dr. William Holland.