SHOULDER /ELBOW / WRIST JOINT PAIN

What most people call the shoulder is really several joints that combine with tendons and muscles to allow a wide range of motion in the arm — from scratching your back to throwing the perfect pitch.

Mobility has its price, however. It may lead to increasing problems with instability or impingement of the soft tissue or bony structures in your shoulder, resulting in pain. You may feel pain only when you move your shoulder, or all of the time. The pain may be temporary or it may continue and require medical diagnosis and treatment.

The most common cause of shoulder pain occurs when rotator cuff tendons become trapped under the bony area in the shoulder. The tendons become inflamed or damaged. This condition is called rotator cuff tendinitis or bursitis.

Bursa is the thin film of soft tissue covering the rotator cuff tendon. When this gets thicker than normal, or irritated, this condition is commonly known as bursitis. Frequent extension of the arm at high speed under high load (i.e., pitching a baseball) can cause bursitis. Non-sports activities such as painting, hanging wallpaper or drapes, or washing windows also can cause it. Medical research shows that the older you get, the more likely you are to develop bursitis. Bursitis and rotator cuff irritation and pain usually occur together.

Shoulder pain may also be caused by:

• Arthritis in the shoulder joint
• Bone spurs in the shoulder area
• Bursitis, which is inflammation of a fluid-filled sac (bursa) that normally protects the joint and helps it move smoothly
• Broken shoulder bone
• Dislocation of the shoulder
• Shoulder separation
• Frozen shoulder, which occurs when the muscles, tendons, and ligaments inside the shoulder become stiff, making movement difficult and painful
• Overuse or injury of nearby tendons, such as the bicep muscles of the arms
• Nerve injury that leads to abnormal shoulder movement
• Tears of the rotator cuff tendons
• Poor shoulder posture and mechanics

Sometimes, shoulder pain may be due to a problem in another area of the body, such as the neck or lungs. This is called referred pain. There is usually pain at rest and no worsening of pain when moving the shoulder.

If you are having trouble lifting your arm above your head or reaching across your body or behind your back, you may have a problem with the range of motion in your shoulder. Limited motion is an early symptom of a frozen shoulder, which is a general term denoting all causes of motion loss in the shoulder. The cause of frozen shoulder is unknown, but it probably involves an underlying inflammatory process. The capsule surrounding the shoulder joint thickens and contracts. This leaves less space for the upper arm bone (humerus) to move around. Frozen shoulder can also develop after a prolonged immobilization because of trauma or surgery to the joint. Usually only one shoulder is affected, although in about one-third of cases, motion may be limited in both arms.

Sudden left shoulder pain can sometimes be a sign of a heart attack. Call 911 or your local emergency number if you have sudden pressure or crushing pain in your shoulder, especially if the pain runs from your chest to the left jaw, arm or neck, or occurs with shortness of breath, dizziness, or sweating.

Go to the hospital emergency room if you have just had a severe injury and your shoulder is very painful, swollen, bruised, or bleeding.

Call your health care provider if you have:

• Shoulder pain with a fever, swelling, or redness
• Problems moving the shoulder
• Pain for more than 2 to 4 weeks, even after home treatment
• Swelling of the shoulder
• Red or blue color of the skin of the shoulder area

source:

https://orthoinfo.aaos.org
https://www.mountsinai.org