I.C.E. DOWN

Shoulder injuries are painful and interfere with your everyday activities. They can also keep you awake at night, forcing you to lie on the unaffected side. Minimizing inflammation and moving the shoulder if possible are very important when you have a shoulder injury. Inflammation and prolonged immobility can lead to frozen shoulder.

Frozen Shoulder

Frozen shoulder is very painful and reduces your range of motion. It occurs when the joint capsule becomes inflamed. Initially you experience pain and stiffness in the shoulder. Over time the tissues thicken and become stiff. This makes it very difficult to move the shoulder. Adhesions form. Frozen shoulder is also called adhesive capsulitis.

Frozen shoulder is more likely to occur after prolonged immobilization of the shoulder, such as when recuperating from another shoulder injury. Frozen shoulder can be caused by conditions which cause inflammation in the body, such as fibromyalgia and other autoimmune conditions.

Dislocated Shoulder

When your arm bone pops out of the shoulder socket, you have a dislocated shoulder. You may or may not be able to see the deformity. A dislocated shoulder can cause tissue and nerve damage. There is also the risk or re-injury and shoulder instability, after shoulder dislocation.

Separated Shoulder

Separated shoulder means that a ligament connecting the shoulder blade to the collar bone has torn.

Rotator Cuff Injury

Rotator cuff injury is a very common cause of shoulder pain. The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons which connects your arm bone to your shoulder blade and helps keep your arm bone in its socket.

Rotator cuff injuries include inflammation, overstretching, or tearing of any of the muscles or tendons in the rotator cuff. Symptoms include pain, tenderness, and weakness in the shoulder. Rotator cuff injuries can make gentle, everyday activities, such as brushing your hair or putting on a coat, very painful.

The natural reaction to rotator cuff injury is to avoid using the shoulder. You should rest your shoulder so it can heal, but do not immobilize it or you could develop frozen shoulder.

A torn rotator cuff is slow to heal, may never fully heal, and can lead to chronic shoulder pain. Keeping the inflammation down with ice wraps and learning to use your shoulder in a way that does not strain the rotator cuff are important to healing and managing long-term symptoms.

Bursitis

Bursitis is inflammation of the bursa. The bursa is a small sac of fluid that provides cushioning and helps your tissues glide smoothly over each other. Bursitis is very painful. Swelling may not be visible due to the location.

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