Shoulder Pain Specialist

What are the causes of shoulder pain?

Shoulders are large, mobile joints that enable you to move your arms in many directions. While this flexibility has advantages, it also means shoulders are prone to injury. Conditions that frequently cause shoulder pain include:

• Bursitis
• Tendonitis
• Shoulder instability
• Arthritis
• Fractures
• Dislocations
• Frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis) 
• Shoulder separation
• Shoulder impingement
• Rotator cuff tears

The rotator cuff muscles and tendons secure your arm bone in position and enable you to raise your arms. 

Rotator cuff tears are common injuries often happening at the same time as a joint dislocation. Both these injuries increase your risk of shoulder instability, where the joint feels loose and pops out of position easily.

How is shoulder pain treated?

Unless you have a severe shoulder injury requiring immediate surgery, Dr. Samimi takes a conservative approach to treating shoulder pain. Your treatment program may consist of:

• Rest
• Activity modification
• Physical therapy 
• Pain-relieving medication
• Anti-inflammatories
• PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injections
• Steroid joint injections

These methods relieve pain and improve function for most patients with shoulder pain, but some require surgery to eliminate their symptoms.

What surgery might I need for shoulder pain?

The type of surgery you need for shoulder pain depends on what's causing the problem and how badly it’s affecting you. Examples of some of the surgeries Dr. Samimi performs include:

Rotator cuff repair

Rotator cuff repair surgery fixes torn muscles and tendons in your shoulder.     

Labrum repair

The labrum is a band of cartilage lining the glenoid (shoulder socket). Glenoid labrum tears can affect the stability of your shoulder joint, as the labrum helps to secure the bones.

Total shoulder replacement

Shoulder replacement involves substituting the ends of the bones in your shoulder joint with artificial parts. If you have joint instability, you might benefit from reverse shoulder replacement surgery, where Dr. Samimi swaps the humeral head and socket position to stabilize the joint.

Biceps tendon repair

The biceps tendon that holds your arm muscle to the bone in your shoulder can suffer damage, requiring surgery to reattach the tendon. 

To access your shoulder joint, Dr. Samimi uses a slender, flexible instrument called an arthroscope that fits through a small incision in your skin. He views the images sent back by the arthroscope’s camera and performs your surgery through other access points.

Arthroscopy enables Dr. Samimi to assess the joint damage, and he can often carry out repairs at the same time. It is also helpful as an aid to open surgery to keep tissue damage to a minimum.

If you have shoulder pain, call Samimi Orthopedic Group for timely attention and relief from your discomfort, or book an appointment online today.