Shoulder pain affects everything you try to do. It interferes with your sleep too. You normally take the incredible range of motion you enjoy with your shoulder joint for granted. When your shoulder hurts or limits you from reaching overhead, it’s past time to get it checked by a medical professional like the pain experts at Pain Management in New York City. Get out of pain today!
Shoulder bursitis is a condition that inflames the bursae, near the top of your arm and the tip of your shoulder. The bursae are sacs filled with fluid that normally cushion the surrounding muscles, tendons and bones of the shoulder joint. Bursae fluid prevents the components of your shoulder, especially the bones, from rubbing against one another.
These bursae also help your rotator cuff move fluidly in the shoulder socket. While your shoulder has the greatest range of motion of any joint, it’s your rotator cuff that allows you to lift your arms over your head or in a circle without difficulty. Untreated, bursitis can lead to a rotator cuff injury. At the first sign of shoulder pain, get the joint checked by one of the top pain management doctors in New York at pain center in New York.
Symptoms of Shoulder Bursitis
When you suffer from shoulder bursitis, your arm and shoulder movements cause you lots of pain. You most likely feel stiffness in your shoulder — not to the point where your shoulder freezes, but you feel pain whenever you move or press on your shoulder or upper arm. Other symptoms include:
- Interrupted sleep as lying down on the side where you have bursitis is painful
- Some swelling in the joint
- Redness and warmness in your shoulder
- Fever in certain cases
Get treatment as soon as possible, as the condition can escalate to shoulder impingement syndrome. Search for an injury clinic near me that has the best pain management doctors. They can quickly assess your condition and provide effective treatment. With bursitis, the odds of you also having a rotator cuff injury or a tear is high.
Reasons for Shoulder Bursitis
If you constantly lift your hands or swing your arms for a sport or for your job, then you’re at risk of developing shoulder bursitis. Doing repetitive movements is the most common cause of the condition — so people who’re most at risk have jobs like carpentry, painting, stocking shelves or doing manual labor. Swimmers, tennis players, golfers and baseball pitchers also often complain of pain on the outer side of the shoulder.
Another common cause is trauma, such as falling or banging your shoulder against a hard surface. Football players who are constantly hit can develop this condition, as well as shoulder tendonitis or bicep tendonitis. Consult a sports injury doctor in New York immediately to ensure your shoulder sprain or strain isn’t more serious. You can also get the disorder if you have certain pre-existing medical conditions, such as:
- Diabetes, which can lead to diabetic neuropathy and other ailments
- Gout, which can attack any large joint in your body
- Shoulder arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis
Diagnosis by Your NYC Pain Doctor
Scheduling an examination is the first step to recover your shoulder health. Treatment for bursitis in your shoulder begins with a complete physical and medical history. Be completely open about when your pain began and what makes it feel better or worse. This helps your best pain relief doctors rule out other types of shoulder injuries.
You may have to undergo several tests to help your doctor determine the severity of your condition. These include:
- Imaging tests like x-rays, an MRI or an ultrasound, which show the internal muscles, tendons and bones of your shoulder
- Aspiration, a procedure to extract a little of the fluid from your problematic bursa to check for infection or gout
- Lab tests for your blood to understand the root cause of the inflammation and pain
Treatment for Shoulder Bursitis
Reducing the inflammation reduces your pain. For this, you must avoid doing the things that cause pain, such as reaching, stretching and doing repetitive movements. These changes help your tendons heal. You can also use an ice pack over the swollen area for 24 to 72 hours. If the pain persists, however, you might need more aggressive shoulder bursitis treatment procedures, such as:
Physical therapy plays a role in helping you regain your strength and range of motion after your inflammation is reduced. Your NYC pain management doctor may also suggest specific exercises. You may need an extensive rehabilitation period, so check any shoulder pain promptly. Schedule an appointment today at Pain Management NYC.
Boleslav Kosharskyy, MD, is a top-rated, best-in-class interventional pain management doctor. He is board-certified in Anesthesiology, Interventional Pain Medicine, and Palliative Care.
Dr. Kosharskyy is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Rehabilitation Medicine at Albert Einstein Medical College. He’s also the Associate Medical Director of Pain Medicine and Director of Anesthesia for the Joint Replacement Center at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein Medical College.
He is an active member of the American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA), the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA), and the New York State Society of Anesthesiologists (NYSSA)