Shoulder Pain – Treatment Options
If you experience shoulder pain, it’s important to know what’s causing the pain so a doctor can correctly diagnose the problem and prescribe the necessary treatment. Shoulder pain can be cause by a variety of different things including bursitis, a tear of the rotator cuff which may sometimes need surgery to repair the problem, or a frozen shoulder. Shoulder pain can also be caused by injuries such as fractures or separations. It can also be caused by one of the forms of arthritis. Arthritis in the shoulder isn’t quite as common as arthritis in the hips or knees, but it does occasionally occur.
When a person has shoulder pain due to arthritis, it’s usually caused by osteoarthritis, the most common variety of the disease. Shoulder pain from arthritis generally happens in people who are over 50, but if an injury has occurred, arthritis could start in a younger person. However, when a person has shoulder pain from arthritis, it’s usually a genetic condition that runs in families. Symptoms of arthritis in the shoulder are pain that begins when there are changes in the weather. This is a case of the disease getting progressively worse, so if a person is experiencing a lot of pain and it gradually gets worse, it could be a case of arthritis and you should see your doctor for a prescribed method of treatment.
Shoulder pain caused by arthritis has a variety of treatments, and the severity of the shoulder pain may dictate the form of treatment that’s prescribed by the doctor. Not every case is the same, and the doctor could even prescribe surgery, depending on how well the treatment works. Sometimes activities may have to be stopped or slowed down when there is shoulder pain from arthritis. Doctors sometimes prescribe exercises to strengthen the shoulder and provide more mobility.
Some shoulder pain reacts well to supplements including glucosamine, which is a safer alternative to some of the medications that are prescribed. Side effects aren’t common and people react well to glucosamine therapy. When shoulder pain is more severe, some doctors prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs. Although many people don’t like to use powerful medications, they’re sometimes necessary until the shoulder pain lessens. In particularly severe cases, doctors sometimes prescribe cortisone injections which are helpful in decreasing inflammation. When other therapies and medications don’t work to control the pain, surgery may be the only option, but this is usually only done in very severe cases when nothing else diminishes the pain.
