Shoulder Diseases & Conditions

shoulder diseases & conditions

Your shoulder joint is composed of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone). Your shoulders are the most movable joints in your body. They can also be unstable because the ball of the upper arm is larger than the shoulder socket that holds it. To remain in a stable or normal position, the shoulder must be anchored by muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

Often there is an initial injury that sets off the process of inflammation which means the problem can be self-exacerbating. Once there is an initial injury, the tendons and bursa become inflamed. This inflammation causes a thickening of these structures. The thickening then takes up more space, and therefore the tendons and bursa become are pinched upon even more. This causes more inflammation, and more thickening of the tendons and bursa, and so on.

The first and most common symptom of Bursitis is pain with overhead activities as in anything arm and above head height. The pain can also be over the outside of the shoulder/upper arm making it very difficult to do your daily activities. This could also intensify to the point of causing pain while sleeping at night.

The small puncture wounds take several days to heal. The operative dressing can usually be removed the morning after surgery and adhesive strips can be applied to cover the small healing incisions.

Diseases & Conditions

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