Delaying action on shoulder pain or outright ignoring the matter could pose a risk to long-term shoulder health, two BayCare Clinic shoulder specialists say.
Drs. Carl A. DiRaimondo and Craig L. Olson recently discussed conservative and surgical options for eliminating shoulder pain and returning shoulder mobility and function.
“Pain in the joint is not normal,” DiRaimondo says. “Don’t live with pain, don’t live with sickness, don’t live with mechanical symptoms that are getting worse. If caught early, it’s probably a simple fix. If caught late, it may be something where it’s a surgery or it’s a surgery that’s more complex than simple.”
There’s a laundry list of culprits behind shoulder pain, the duo says, including but not limited to:
- Traumatic injuries
- Overuse injuries
- Arthritis
- Genetic conditions
Shoulder replacement surgery becomes necessary when a person no longer can bear the pain or effectively perform everyday tasks due to lost mobility and arm function, Olson says.
“These patients come in, we evaluate them, we see what kind of non-surgical options are available,” Olson says. “Patients that can’t get significant relief or restoration of function through non-surgical means, then the discussion about joint replacement in the shoulder becomes a bigger part of where we’re headed.”
For more information on surgical and non-surgical treatments for shoulder pain, please contact the specialists at Orthopedics & Sports Medicine BayCare Clinic in Manitowoc.