What Should I Know About Shoulder Pain?

The shoulder joint is a complex mechanism that is essentially three bones all interconnected by tendons, muscles, and ligaments. The largest bone that helps make up the shoulder is known as the humerus, while the ball at the end of the humerus is called the glenoid fossa.

The ligaments are unto strong, fibrous and elastic ropes that connect bones and provide a measure of stability for the shoulder joint itself. The muscles themselves help stabilize the scapula and other tendons that help maneuver the arm, giving the shoulder its range of motion. These stabilizing muscles, such as the pectoralis and deltoid are just some of the muscles that keep the shoulder doing what it needs to do.

The bursa is a type of sack filled with fluid that helps reduce friction between tissue, protecting the shoulder from bony structures that could injure the tissue underneath. While the bursa itself has little fluid inside, when it is irritated it can fill up quickly to the point where it can cause irritation and pain to the tendons along the rotator cuff.