Living With Shoulder Pain

Shoulder pain and other shoulder problems are the most common reasons for visits to the doctor for musculoskeletal symptoms. Since the shoulder has the most range of motion of any joint in the human body, it is susceptible to repetitive stress injuries to the ball of the upper arm which is larger than the shoulder socket, allowing it to be easily inured when the muscles, ligaments, and tendons are likewise injured.

For the shoulder joint to remain effective, the shoulder must remain effectively anchored in-place by the tendons, ligaments, and muscles. However, when these soft tissues become injured from overuse or underuse, pain can occur. Shoulder pain is often localized in that specific area of the body, but other times diseases such as infections or disorders of the liver, gallbladder, and heart can create chronic pain that travels up the spinal cord into the nerves of the neck and shoulder.

The shoulder joint itself is composed of the clavicle, scapula, and humerus. The two smaller joints that help the shoulder move, called the acromioclavicular joint and the clavical.