Coping with shoulder pain

After two years of recovering from shoulder pain, I can honestly say it is a relief to be able to get back to my routine. With caution, I have returned to mowing the lawn, finishing a brick patio and cleaning the house. Shoulder pain is a common ailment and although mine was aggravated by a car accident, shoulder problems increase as we age. Here are a few of the common causes of shoulder pain.

Osteoarthritis is the most common of arthritic symptoms. The cartilage between the joints wears down and the bones begin to rub causing chronic pain. You may hear a creak or click and additional stiffness or swelling. The cause is long term wear on the joints but can also be caused by a traumatic injury. 

Treatment is challenging. There is no cure. The Journal of the American Medical Association found taking supplements can ease the symptoms. No magic bullet but it is a matter of use it or lose. Physical therapy, moderate exercise and over the counter pain relievers can help.

Rotator Cuff is the group of four muscles and tendons that connect the arm to the shoulder. This area is susceptible to bruising and inflammation from overhead activities, sleeping on the affected shoulder or reaching behind your back. It is caused by repetitive stress and injury. It affects 50% of those over the age of 50. Pain can eased with over the counter pain relief medications. The easy fix is to limit or avoid lifting or pulling while the inflammation heals. But surgery or cortisone injections may be required to repair the damage. MRI can determine the damage to access level of treatment.

Bursitis means there is inflammation of the bursa, a thin sac of fluid that cushions the bones, tendons and muscles in a joint. A dull ache that hurts more with moving the arm up or to the side. It is the most common cause of shoulder pain and again is the result of repetitive movement.

Treatment is resting the shoulder and avoiding the activing that causes the pain. Doctors may use cortisone injection to reduce the inflammation and physical therapy. Surgery may be necessary.

Frozen shoulder happens when the capsule of connective tissue in the lining of the shoulder joint thickens and becomes inflammed. The three stages, freezing, frozen and thawing. The difference between frozen shoulder and bursitis is that the pain occurs when the shoulder is at rest, not in motion. This is common in women over age 50 and those with diabetes. 

Treatment can take up to 18 months to move through the stages of frozen shoulder. It is a case of wait for the process to move through each stage. Freezing, movements become more painful, frozen, the pain decreases but difficult to move, and thawing the stiffeness decreases and motion increases.

Whatever the cause or treatment, the ailment is a common aging ailment. The chances of shoulder pain in the over 50 age group rises with each decade. Although exercise can help avoid some of these, it certainly can help ease the pain. Gentle, moderate exercise, in other words, think and play smarter.

Image: Flickr by flyzipper