How to Treat Rotator Cuff Injuries

Rotator cuff injuries are some of the most common injuries in sports medicine. This joint is inherently dynamic and vulnerable to instability, especially given the stresses we place on it in a variety of activities.

Tearing, trauma, overuse and stress can all lead to the agony of rotator cuff pain. As the tendons rip or strain, the pain can spread across the shoulder and down your arm, preventing you from doing simple things like eating and typing.

Treatments for rotator cuff injuries can range from rest and therapy to steroid injections and surgery, including both arthroscopic and open shoulder surgery. One recent innovation, interscalene block, may be indicated as well:

A technique called interscalene block is often used to manage pain both during and after surgery. Prior to surgery, numbing medication is delivered through a catheter to the group of nerves that control movement and sensation in the upper extremities, allowing for lighter anesthesia during the operation. Continued for a couple days after surgery, it also helps patients through the worst cycle of post-surgical pain, decreasing or eliminating the need for narcotic painkillers.

The only way to determine which kind of rotator cuff injury you have is to visit a San Diego orthopedist and get a full workup. Your shoulder pain doctor will ask about work and play history, as well as any injuries and family history of that could predispose you to this sort of pain.

Get started by contacting AOSM here today.

Consumer Reports on Shoulder Pain

Consumer Reports is one of the last remaining bastions of professional not-for-profit reviews, which makes its advice on medical issues especially noteworthy. Unlike heavily sponsored websites such as WebMD, CR accepts no advertising whatsoever and weighs nothing but the best medical evidence when it publishes recommendations.

So it’s worth listening the organization when it issues guidelines such as these, covering the best ways to manage shoulder pain without shoulder surgery. (It’s also worth recording what the organization says you should avoid, including controversial measures like cervical traction and frequent steroid injections.) This first piece of advice is also the simplest:

Support your neck while you sleep by lying on your back with one or more pillows beneath your knees and a small pillow under your head; doing so keeps your neck and head in a neutral position. If you need further relief, our Best Buy Drugs analysis suggests trying over-the-counter painkillers such as ibuprofen (Advil and generic) or naproxen (Aleve and generic).

And when basic rest and OTC medications measures no longer resolve your shoulder pain, then it’s time to visit an orthopedic specialist. Contact AOSM today to learn more about the best best shoulder pain treatments in San Diego.

Exercises for Frozen Shoulder

We use our shoulders for nearly everything, from writing and eating to standing and even speaking. When impingement syndrome strikes, it touches everything, leaving most people struggling to complete the most quotidian of tasks.

Although you can achieve fast pain relief with the help of an orthopedic specialist, not every case requires shoulder surgery. Exercises and rest are both time-tested approaches in the treatment of frozen shoulder, including this simple at-home measure:

Exercise: Lean over holding onto a chair or table, let your arm hang down. Swing your arm gently in circles using momentum and gravity. Go both ways for one minute each, five times per day.

And what should you do if exercise isn’t stemming the tide of anguish any longer?

It’s important to keep the joint mobile, but some patients need a corticosteroid injection to reduce inflammation or, as a last resort, surgery to release the pinched tendon.

Visit the best San Diego orthopedic surgeon to get a full workup and develop a pain for persistent relief from your pain today.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/how-tackle-joint-pain-sort-7934213

How to Beat Back Shoulder Pain

Shoulder pain is an equal opportunity torturer, afflicting patients young and old, active and infirm. A tremendous variety of ailments that can give rise to shoulder pain, from disease to disuse, which can make it difficult to diagnose and treat.

But a good diagnostic appointment can get you most of the way there.

Shoulder pain typically is caused by instability from straining the muscles, tendons and bones of this system. Although issues such as trauma and arthritis are easy to spot, longer-term stresses may go unnoticed for far too long until they become chronically painful. One such issue, impingement syndrome, typically strikes people whose work requires them to reach or point all day:

Chronic shoulder pain often stems from prolonged, repetitive or awkward movements. This type of pain is sometimes referred to as repetitive strain injury (RSI) or cumulative trauma disorder, which is common among people who work with their arm above the shoulder level, like homemakers, teachers, painters, carpenters and sportsmen.

Treating shoulder pain effectively requires an expert orthopedist who can help you understand how your daily activities may be causing pain. When you contact AOSM, you get access to the most accurate diagnostic tools in San Diego.

Contact my offices today to get fast relief from shoulder pain in San Diego and throughout Southern California.

Treatment Options for Chronic Shoulder Pain

When is it wise to treat shoulder pain medically, and when is it time for shoulder surgery? It’s a question that has no universal answers; typically patients and their orthopedic surgeons make this determination together based on the length of the discomfort and the severity of the pain.

As this recent piece from the Chicago Tribune says, surgery is a last option, but hardly an excessively aggressive one:

The choice of treatments vary with the cause and severity of the shoulder pain. Minor pain can be addressed by applying a cold pack to the shoulder over a period of time. More severe conditions may require immobilizing the shoulder with a sling, prescribing anti-inflammatory drugs or injections or working with a physical therapist. If there is a serious injury to the shoulder, surgery to repair the damage is often the best option.

My San Diego orthopedic practice cares for shoulder injuries of every kind, from impingements and frozen shoulder to disease and trauma. Your shoulder pain should never be chronic when you have smart options available to you.

Want to learn more about the best shoulder pain treatment in San Diego? Call my offices today.

Why Shoulder Pain Persists

Shoulder pain is caused by instability or impingement in the muscles and tendons of the shoulder, a system that is uniquely prone to injury. The shoulder is a significant load-bearing joint, and consequently it can suffer injuries from a number of root causes.

Tears, arthritic pain, fractures and bursitis all make the short list of common shoulder injuries, along with a wide range of possible tendonitis. Although each of these injuries works in a different way, the net result is unmistakable: reduced mobility and searing pain when the shoulder is in motion or even at rest.

Most shoulder injuries take weeks or months to fully heal, which is why the pain tends to last so long. But if you have shoulder pain and want to achieve lasting relief, rest and therapy are your best bets. If these measures fail to solve the problem, it may be time to speak with a San Diego orthopedic surgeon to learn more today.