Description

The shoulder is particularly vulnerable to injury for it is not considered a very stable joint. In order for the shoulder to do all the mobility that is required, it has to move in all planes of range of movement. This complex movement involves many different types of muscle and joint functions including your collarbone, your scapula, and your rotator cuff in what are termed accessory muscles to help your arm move. This part of your body is particularly vulnerable, especially as we age, where the circulation to our rotator cuffs lessen over time, creating tears in our rotator cuff. Fifty percent of 50 year olds have early tearing of therotator cuff and it goes up as we age. Sixty percent of 60 year olds have rotator cuff pathology noted until we 100, we all have it.

Osteoarthritis of the shoulder is not uncommon, especially if you have shoulder instability or have had some form of trauma in the past, such as a shoulder dislocation or a fracture.  The AC joint is commonly involved with arthritic changes as we age and is frequently amenable to nonsurgical treatments. Muscle pain can result in trigger point tenderness in the area around the shoulder. This is due to chronic muscle spasms.

Treatments

For rotator cuff tearing, if caught early enough, PRP injections or stem cell injections are the state of the art for nonsurgical treatment of the shoulder. In most cases, rotator cuff injuries are gradual in onset after a mild trauma and can be rendered asymptomatic if repaired using your own body’s stem cells and platelet cells to revascularize and regenerate the tissue that is torn. 

Trigger point tenderness is treated with injections to stop the muscle’s chronic muscle spasms. This frequently results in relief of long-term muscle pain.  The AC joint can be treated with cortisone injections frequently or in some cases PRP can be injected in the joint to help rejuvenate it and stabilize it.  Shoulder arthritis can be treated with cortisone injections frequently, but in the more advanced cases, PRP injections or a stem cell injection into the shoulder is markedly beneficial.