Shoulder impingement syndrome causes pain and weakness in the shoulder due to inflammation or injury to the rotator cuff muscles. Treatment involves anti-inflammatory medication, exercises, and limiting certain activities. Ignoring the condition can lead to complications like a torn rotator cuff.
Shoulder impingement syndrome is a recognized medical condition that goes by many other names. Some of these are swimmer’s bow, thrower’s shoulder, and painful bow. As you would expect, this disease affects the shoulder and can cause mild to significant pain, especially if a person places their hand behind their back or tries to move or lift it. The rationale behind some of this syndrome’s more colorful names, especially when they refer to swimming or throwing, is thus understood.
The cause of shoulder impingement syndrome is irritation or a slight injury to the rotator cuff. These are muscles and other support elements that surround the shoulder joint and help it move within a certain range. If inflammation occurs in these muscles, it can start to affect muscle integrity, as the muscles are pushed against the bones, which reduces the blood supply. The ability to move muscles is greatly impaired, and people may find it difficult to perform simple tasks. The shoulder and sometimes the upper arm can feel weak and unable to do most things.
There are additional potential causes of shoulder impingement syndrome. People who get shoulder bursitis might end up with inflamed rotator cuff muscles. Inflammation of the tendons found in the rotator cuff in the form of tendonitis can be another condition that causes shoulder impingement.
Symptoms of this condition in the early stages typically include pain and the aforementioned muscle weakness or limitation of movement due to pain or weakness. If left untreated or left untreated, other complications can occur. Swelling of the muscles and lack of muscle integrity can tear the rotator cuff or sometimes the biceps muscle.
Shoulder impingement syndrome usually cannot be ignored due to discomfort and changes in range of motion. People normally see a doctor right away and they should. The syndrome is fairly easily diagnosed by its symptoms and sometimes with X-rays to rule out other conditions. The main diagnostic tool may be the injection of numbing drugs into the injured shoulder. If this causes pain relief, it is usually a clear symptom.
Treatment of shoulder impingement syndrome combines several things. These often include taking at least two months of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or another anti-inflammatory agent if a person is allergic to NSAIDs. Patients may also be taught special shoulder exercises and may see a physical therapist to learn them. Doctors and/or physiotherapists may also limit some activities. If symptoms get worse instead of better, doctors may want to do more scans to make sure a major rotator cuff tear isn’t present, since a torn rotator cuff is a serious tear.
However, most people will not have this complication if they have taken their medications faithfully, followed the advice for the recommended activities, and performed the suggested exercises. In most cases, the major damage is usually due to the condition being ignored. Alternatively, if people have exceptional problems with NSAIDs and other anti-inflammatory drugs, doctors may need to be more creative in reducing inflammation so people can recover.
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