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The commonly faced
problems of a human shoulder are described
below -
1) Frozen shoulder
 Frozen
shoulder which has also been termed as
Adhesive Capsulitis is a condition that is
mostly faced by women aged between 40 to
60 years. Research says women are more
susceptible to this problem rather than
men. There is no specific reason for this
condition to develop but sometimes it is
experienced by the patients after meeting
with a traumatic injury or an accident.
Frozen shoulder mainly restricts a
person's shoulder joint motion resulting
in contracted capsule and formation of
scar tissues. The contraction and the
formation together make it difficult for a
person to perform normal activities by
making the shoulder joint scarred and
stiff.
Dull pain, limitation in the movement of
the shoulder joint, and pain while
performing activities where it is needed
to raise arms above the head - these are
the symptoms mostly found in the patients
who are suffering from this condition.
Risk factors - Patient who have been
dealing with the problems of Endocrine
Disorders, Type I & II Diabetes,
Thyroid, Parkinson's Disease, Heart
Disease or other similar systemic
condition are likely to develop the
condition mentioned above. This condition
is also very common among those who have
been taking Antiretroviral medications for
a prolonged period of time.
2) Tendoniti
 A bunch of
fibrous tissues which are tough but
flexible in nature is known as tendon.
Tendon plays a crucial role by working as
a connector between the muscles and the
bones of a human body. Tendon mainly aims
at transmitting the force originated from
the muscle contraction to the bones.
Depending on the shapes and sizes
activities of the tendons vary from each
other. For instance, tendons smaller in
size are eligible for controlling the
movements of fingers. At times, due to
different sorts of reasons inflammation
occurs in the tendons which makes the
muscle pulling action painful. This
inflamed condition of the tendons is known
as Tendonitis.
There is one particular area inside the
tendon that is comparatively more prone to
injury and the same if often described as
the watershed zone of tendons. In this
area quantity of blood supply is very poor
and this weakness results in difficulty
while delivering essential nutrients as
well as oxygen to heal tendons with a
sooner effect. Most of the tendon injuries
are experienced by the patients due to the
overuse of the tendons. Usually people
aged between 40 to 60 years are found
complaining about this kind of condition.
Pain related to tendon and muscle
movements, tendon swelling and uneasiness,
a feeling of tenderness over tendons -
these are some of the common symptoms of
Tendonitis.
3) Bursitis
 A structure
that works as a protector for the soft
tissues by reducing friction between
tendons, bones and ligaments, is called
bursa. This sac like structure is filled
with lubricating fluid and mainly aims at
giving protection to the soft tissues from
injuries caused by immense pressure formed
in the nearby bones. Bursae are found
throughout the body and the joints that
are more prone to get extreme pressure,
experience the problem of Bursitis more
frequently. Bursitis is nothing but an
inflamed Bursa that becomes irritated due
to the increased pressure and repetitive
use in the areas of joints like elbows,
knees, shoulders, feet, hip and also the
one that is located in the buttocks (lower
part).
There
are some common reasons found for
which in most of the cases patient
suffer from this condition:
Problem of Arthritis in a nearby joint
Pressure on bursa for a prolonged period
of time due to long hours sitting or any
other similar kind of activity
Excessive stress on the joints which is
very unusual too
Movements of certain joints repetitively
Any injury caused by sudden fall or due
to the regular use of shoes that are
imperfect for a person
Patients suffering from Gout, Pseudogout
and Rheumatoid Arthritis are likely to
experience this condition more than those
who do not have the symptoms mentioned
above.
Infection is stated as the another
reason for which people suffers from
Septic Bursitis. It mainly occurs due to
several kinds of skin infections.
Pain that restricts movement of the
joints, swelling, tenderness - these are
known as some of the commonest Bursitis
symptoms experienced by the majority of
the patients.
Various types
of Bursitis:
Subacromial bursitis - affected area is
shoulder
Scapulothoracic bursitis - affected area
is upper back
Elbow bursitis
Ischial (pelvic) bursitis
Hip bursitis
Knee bursitis
Retrocalcaneal bursitis - affects heel
Intermetatarsal bursitis - affects foot
4) Rotator Cuff
Disease
 The
shoulder joint is stabilized by a group of
four tendons namely the Rotator Cuff.
These four tendons are connected with the
four muscles that allow the shoulder to
move in different directions. Each of
these four muscles has unique role to
perform to keep the shoulder movements
functional.
The Subscapularis Muscle -
used for internal rotation where the arms
are turned inwardly
The Supraspinatus Muscle -
required for arm elevation and moving the
arms away from body
The Infraspinatus Muscle -
responsible for arm lifting at the time of
external rotation
The Teres Minor Muscle -
like the Infraspinatus Muscle, this muscle
also assists when the arms are turned
outwardly
When the Rotator Cuff is damaged due to an
accident, repetitive strains or any other
similar kind of injury, then it is defined
as a Rotator Cuff disease. Inflammation
and degeneration due to aging are the two
main causes of this kind of condition.
Inflammation may occur due to Arthritic
conditions or for the problems related to
Bursitis and Tendonitis. However, it is
essential to mention here in this context
that people getting involved in repetitive
overhead motions are more affected with
the Rotator Cuff disease.
Shoulder pain is considered to be the
commonest symptom of the Rotator Cuff
Disease. Sometimes the pain is felt all of
a sudden and that too after a few days of
the trauma the patient has experienced.
Originating mainly from the front part of
the shoulder the pain gradually increases
as a result of which it becomes difficult
to continue with the shoulder movement at
various directions. Along with pain
inflammation occurs too and most of these
problems start at bedtime. However,
arresting the problems at the very initial
stage is important otherwise the pain and
inflammation of the Rotator Cuff Disease
can lead to other major issues like frozen
shoulder.
5) Rotator Cuff
Tear -
 As
stated above, Rotator Cuff is made up of
four tendons that are connected with four
muscles. If a tear is found in any one of
those four tendons then the condition is
defined as a Rotator Cuff Tear. Out of all
the conditions that can affect a human
shoulder Rotator Cuff Tear is known as the
most common one. Torn Rotator Cuff
restricts regular shoulder movement by
making it painful and inflamed. If the
condition is not treated properly then
gradually it makes the shoulder weak and
incapable of performing daily activities
like combing hair, stressing out arms to
hold an object, getting dressed etc.
Rotator cuff tear has become one of the
common causes of disability and pain among
the middle aged and old adults. This
continuous pain occurs due to the torn
tendon which fails to get attached to the
head of humerus due to the tear. Though in
most of the cases tears are found in the
supraspinatus muscle and tendon but other
parts too get involved in the same. Depending
on the severity of the conditions two
types of tears have been observed:
1) Partial tear
2) Full thickness or complete tear
Symptoms
of a Rotator Cuff Tear are -
1) Pain when lying on the shoulder which
is inflamed
2) Certain movements like lowering or
lifting arm are painful
3) Arm rotation is weak
4) At the time of moving shoulder
crackling sensation is felt
There is a noticeable difference in the
pain in accordance with the type of
Rotator Cuff Tear. If a tear occurs due to
sudden fall it will arouse severe pain
along with a weakness in the shoulder and
a snapping sensation. On the contrary if
the tear develops gradually and slowly
then a mild pain will be experienced
initially.
6) Dislocation -
 When the
humeral head is removed forcibly from the
socket then the condition is clinically
defined as shoulder dislocation. There are
many reasons for which a dislocation can
occur. Those who are young experience this
due to severe sports injury or sudden
fall. The old generation faces the same
problem for some other obvious reasons
like aging of the ligaments and cartilages
that support a human shoulder. However, it
is required to be mentioned here that only
weakening of ligaments cannot make a
shoulder dislocated. At this situation too
some force is applied as a result of which
patient experiences shoulder dislocation.
Depending on the positioning of the
humerus head after it is injured there are
two types of shoulder dislocation cases
found in the medical history. If the
humeral head is moved to the front part of
the joint then the condition is medically
termed as anterior dislocation. 90 - 92%
shoulder dislocation cases are found to be
of the anterior types. Posterior
dislocation occurs when humeral head is
moved backward toward the blade of human
shoulder.
Apart from these two mentioned above there
are certain rare sorts of dislocations
found such as Intrathoracic and Luxatio
Erecta.
7) Separation -
 The joint of
a human shoulder consists of - the
clavicle, the scapula and the humerus.
When the clavicle and the scapula come
together the patient is diagnosed with the
problem of Shoulder Separation. The joint
between the clavicle and the scapula is
known as the Acromioclavicular Joint where
the shoulder separation mainly occurs when
the AC joint is disrupted. This is why the
same condition is also termed as AC
Separation.
One prominent cause for the AC or shoulder
separation is a sudden fall and that too
onto the shoulder directly. This kind of
sudden fall stabilizes the AC joint by
injuring the surrounding ligaments.
Initially patient complaints of having
mild pain but if the deformity is severe
then the pain also increases with time and
takes a prolonged period of time to give
pain-free movements to the patient.
8) Fractures -
 A sudden
fall, severe collision, dreadful road
accidents - these are the commonest causes
of getting the clavicle or proximal
humerus fractured. Since the scapula
remains under a protection by the chest
and muscles surrounded it is only found
fractured is a massive trauma is
experienced by the patient.
Pain, restricted shoulder movement,
bruises, swelling, deformation, grinding
sensation are some common symptoms found
in the patients suffering from shoulder
trauma.
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