Patients always tell us that they don’t fully realize how important a particular joint is to their daily function until it’s impaired. While this holds true for most of your major joints, your shoulders can be really problematic when they’re in pain and out of commission.
As a shoulder specialist and board-certified orthopedic surgeon, Dr. William Schell is well-versed in the many roads to shoulder pain, and he has solutions for most of them.
Here, we review four shoulder issues that drive a good number of patients to our practice, and we share how we relieve their pain and restore function to this important joint.
When it comes to shoulder issues, rotator cuff tears are at the top of the list. These injuries send about 2 million people to seek medical help across the United States each year. And the prevalence of rotator cuff tears increases with age to the point where up to half of people over the age of 80 have rotator cuff damage.
Your rotator cuff is a tough band of tissues made up of four different muscles that come together as a tendon. This tendon attaches your arm to your body and enables you to lift and rotate your arm.
Rotator cuff tears can develop through acute injury or through overuse and overstress. Whether it’s an injury or wear and tear, the damage can leave you with a shoulder that’s weakened and painful.
How we go about treating rotator cuff tears depends on the extent of the damage and your goals. If you rely on the use of your arms and you have a large tear, you might benefit from surgical repair. If the tear isn’t major, more conservative efforts, such as rest, physical therapy, and activity modification, usually do the trick.
Your shoulder joints are shallow ball-and-socket joints, which is what allows you to swing your arms in almost every direction. This great range of motion comes at a cost, as shoulder dislocations — when the top of your upper arm bone comes out of the socket — are fairly common.
Shoulder dislocations typically occur due to trauma, but some people develop shoulder instability, which allows the joint to dislocate more frequently.
Shoulder dislocations are painful, but the good news is that Dr. Schell can reposition the joint quickly. If you have ongoing issues with dicolations, we can discuss arthroscopy to repair and tighten connective tissues.
If the connective tissues in your shoulder rub up against your shoulder blade too much, you can develop problems with impingement. This issue is more common among people who do repetitive overhead work, such as painters.
If we diagnose you with shoulder impingement, which can be quite painful, we like to start with over-the-counter medications, rest, and physical therapy. If these measures fall short, we may try a corticosteroid injection to relieve the pain and inflammation.
If there’s a bone spur that’s causing the impingement, Dr. Schell might recommend arthroscopic surgery to remove the bone.
Also called adhesive capsulitis, frozen shoulder is a condition that develops over time, starting as stiffness and eventually leading to limited movement in the joint.
Frozen shoulders tend to strike people between the ages of 40 and 60, and those with diabetes are more vulnerable to the condition.
The frozen shoulder experience can be a long one as it goes through three stages:
In total, this journey can take up to three years, but our team can step in during any stage to speed healing and make you more comfortable.
For every issue that can affect your shoulder, we work tirelessly to provide a solution that addresses both comfort and function.
So, if you need help with a shoulder issue, you’ve come to the right place. To schedule an appointment with us at our New York City office — which is located on Columbus Circle on the Upper West Side — simply click here.
