When Should You See a Specialist for Shoulder Pain?

Your shoulders provide the mobility and flexibility for you to be able to reach the top shelf or serve a spike in volleyball. Without your shoulders, most of your daily activities would be impossible to complete. However, because they’re used often and have extreme flexibility, your shoulders are prone to injury.

Steven J. Svabek, DO, PA and his team offer specialized treatment when it comes to pain in your shoulder. Dr. Svabek is a renowned orthopedic specialist, and offers comprehensive and compassionate care when you’ve suffered an injury to your shoulder or have pain that won’t go away on its own.

Causes of shoulder pain

Shoulder pain is caused by a number of problems; some of the problems are acute while others are chronic and build over time. Your shoulders are used often, which leads to wear-and-tear injuries. Some of the most common problems that lead to shoulder pain include:

• Tendonitis
• Biceps rupture
• Rotator cuff tear
• Bursitis
• Osteoarthritis
• Dislocation
• Frozen shoulder
• Sprains or strains
• Fracture

In some instances, new-onset shoulder pain without an injury can signal a heart attack. If you have shoulder pain along with chest tightness or shortness of breath, call 911 and seek immediate medical care.

When should you see a specialist?

You should seek immediate care if your shoulder pain is due to an acute injury, and there is an obvious deformity. The same is true for shoulder pain that comes on suddenly with no apparent cause.

For less severe instances of shoulder pain, there are times when you should seek an orthopedic specialist, some of which include:

• Pain that doesn’t get better with home care
• New onset of swelling or a lump on your shoulder
• Pain even when your arm isn’t in use
• Numbness, weakness, or paralysis of the affected arm
• Changes in severity of your pain

You should also seek care from Dr. Svabek and his team when your pain returns during your normal activities. Even if it subsides with rest, pain that continues with normal motion is the sign of a problem in your shoulder.

Any kind of traumatic injury to your shoulder should be evaluated, even if you don’t feel the pain is severe. Damage is still possible with falls or direct blows to your shoulder.

What to expect at your appointment

When you see our team for your shoulder pain, you can expect a lot of questions about the circumstances surrounding your discomfort. Dr. Svabek gathers a detailed history of when the pain started and whether there was an injury involved.

After gathering the information he needs about your pain, Dr. Svabek performs an examination of your shoulder. He palpates around the area and asks you to move your shoulder to determine which motions lead to discomfort. 

The next step in determining the cause of your pain is advanced imaging. This includes X-rays, MRI, or CAT scans to determine any structural abnormalities in your shoulder that are causing your pain. Injuries are also determined through imaging studies.

Once Dr. Svabek has the entire picture of your pain, he creates a personalized treatment plan to get you on the road to recovery.

Treatment options for shoulder pain

Dr. Svabek bases his treatment plan on the severity of your shoulder pain and what’s causing the discomfort. Conservative measures are usually the first line of treatment, and they include:

• Rest
• Ice or heat
• Anti-inflammatory medications
• Corticosteroid injections
• Immobilizer or sling
• Physical therapy

In many cases, conservative measures treat your pain and allow you to regain mobility of your shoulder joint. It sometimes takes several weeks, but you should see improvement in your pain and flexibility.

When your shoulder pain doesn’t subside with conservative measures, Dr. Svabek recommends more invasive surgical procedures to get to the bottom of your pain. The type of surgical procedure necessary is based on what’s actually causing your symptoms in your shoulder joint.

Don’t let shoulder pain take over your life. Call the office today at 954-466-9140 or book an appointment on the website using our convenient scheduling tool.