Shoulder Conditions & Surgeries

Although most people think of the shoulder as a single joint, there are really two joints in the area of the shoulder. Both joints may be affected by arthritis.

The biceps tendon attaches the biceps muscle to the shoulder. This tendon can become frayed causing pain in the older athlete who plays tennis and racquetball.

The shoulder joint is your body’s most mobile joint. It can turn in many directions, but this advantage also makes your shoulder joint easy to dislocate.

Falling on the outstretched arm is a common way that workers break the bones that make up the shoulder joint.

Frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis) is a disorder characterized by pain and loss of motion or stiffness in the shoulder. It affects about two percent of the general population.

Impingement is one of the most common causes of pain in the adult shoulder. It results from pressure on the rotator cuff from part of the shoulder blade (scapula) as the arm is lifted.

The labrum is the cartilage rim that surrounds the socket of the shoulder joint. The labrum can tear when a worker falls and hangs by their arm. The labrum can also tear as an occupational injury when the arm is used forcibly overhead.

The rotator cuff helps to lift and rotate the arm and to stabilize the ball of the shoulder within the joint. Workers that suffer from impingement can weaken the rotator cuff to the point where it tears.

A shoulder dislocation occurs when the ball completely comes out of the joint’s socket. This occurs when the arm is pushed backwards and levers the ball to pop out from a fall while snowboarding or skiing and from contact during football and the martial arts.

Shoulder replacement surgery started in the United States in the 1950s. It was used as a treatment for severe shoulder fractures.

The shoulder is easily injured because the ball of the upper arm is larger than the shoulder socket that holds it. To remain stable, the shoulder must be anchored by its muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

A shoulder separation is an injury to the joint between the clavicle and the shoulder blade. This part of the shoulder can be injured from a blow or a fall onto the top of the shoulder during football, hockey, skiing, and snowboarding. This injury can also occur after repeated weightlifting.