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.

Is More Motion Better for Shoulder Injuries?

Orthopedic surgeons have long debated how much is too much when it comes to pitching in baseball. Although some voices have called for limiting pitches for younger players, some specialists insist that proper form and care can prevent injuries at any age.

Now new data has come to light in support of the “proper form” argument: researchers found that increased rotation in the shoulder during a pitching motion can actually help to prevent injury:

“What we found was … [that] external rotation was actually protective to the shoulder and we were surprised that we did not find association with the loss of internal rotation or the loss of cross-body motion,” Wilk said.

Tightening up and aiming for a more compact form may actually be stressing the ligaments of the shoulder, creating greater tension that leads to an increase in injuries.

Research such as this is unlikely to stop the debate, of course, but it’s an interesting that may open the door toward greater insight into form and technique among baseball players of every age nationwide.

If you have experienced shoulder pain from pitching or any other athletic activity, contact the expert orthopedic surgery staff at my office today.