You’ve been experiencing pain in your shoulder. It’s making it difficult to get through your daily life activities, and may even be disrupting your sleep at night. You know that rotator cuff tears are a common cause of shoulder pain, but could the issue be something different, like shoulder impingement?
Dr. Michael Blackwell and the orthopedic experts at the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, located in Tomball, Kingwood, and Conroe, Texas, diagnose and treat shoulder pain and dysfunction. We can help you understand why you’re in pain, and guide you through the right treatments and therapies to improve your shoulder condition and get rid of your painful symptoms for good.
Whether you’ve suffered a rotator cuff tear, shoulder impingement, or another type of biomechanical problem, you’re in good hands when you turn to us for evaluation and care, including shoulder surgery.
While both shoulder impingement and a rotator cuff tear are likely to leave you suffering from pain and struggling to fully extend your arm, these two common types of shoulder injury need to be treated differently, and they arise from issues with different parts of the shoulder joint.
Your shoulder joint contains several complex elements, allowing you to move and rotate your arm in multiple directions. The rotator cuff is made up of multiple muscles and tendons, which have to work together for stable, smooth motion. Stress to the rotator cuff can cause tendon tears or muscle damage, leading to pain and dysfunction.
Another area of the shoulder joint that can cause problems is located under the bone of your shoulder blade, an area known as the subacromial space. This area contains rotator cuff tendons, as well as bursa and soft tissue. If your shoulder bones pinch or compress this space, you can develop a case of shoulder impingement, which can be accompanied by inflammation in the affected area. Shoulder impingement can lead to other complications, so prompt diagnosis and treatment are a must.
Dr. Blackwell and his team start your shoulder pain treatment with a comprehensive examination of the painful joint and the surrounding areas of your body. We use imaging like X-rays or an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) to learn more about the condition of your shoulder, accurately determining where the issue is located, and the correct diagnosis for you.
We also discuss your symptoms with you, as they can provide a hint at the nature of your shoulder injury. Shoulder impingement tends to result in dull, progressive pain that gradually worsens over time, and is often connected to specific body movements. You’re likely to suffer from the worst pain at nighttime. In contrast, acute rotator cuff tears often produce sudden, intense pain at the moment of injury that won’t improve after rest.
Both shoulder impingement and rotator cuff tears can cause weakness in the related arm. However, the weakness associated with shoulder impingement connects to pain, while a rotator cuff tear makes some motions impossible even when pain is controlled.
Your treatment plan at the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine follows from your diagnosis. If your condition isn’t accurately identified, you may not follow the right treatment approach.
An impingement may improve after conservative treatment options like anti-inflammatory medication, pain injections, rest, or physical therapy. When possible, Dr. Blackwell recommends starting your treatment with these options.
Your rotator cuff treatment depends on the severity of the tear. Mild tears may respond to conservative treatment like specialized physical therapy or Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) injections, but more severe tears are likely to need surgery for full healing.
For help with shoulder pain that disrupts your sleep, makes it difficult to use your arm, and isn’t going away on its own, contact the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine online or over the phone today and schedule your initial consultation appointment now.
