Health Topics for Sports Medicine

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

UI Family Care

Shoulder Injuries

Sports injuries to the shoulder joint are common. They are often tough to diagnose because shoulder pain may stem from a mixture of bone, muscle, and joint damage. An athlete may be given three different diagnoses when symptoms overlap. All could be correct.

Sudden shoulder injuries are broken bones, dislocations, sprains, and bruises. These may be caused by a direct fall onto an outstretched arm or from direct impact to the shoulder. The symptoms come on instantly with severe pain and tenderness. Swelling, lack of movement, and deformity will also occur. Apply ice and seek medical help. Contact sports and sports where people may fall have a high risk for these kinds of injuries. Examples include football, ice hockey, biking, skiing, in-line skating, and gymnastics.

Overuse injuries include bursitis, tendonitis, bony spurs, and muscle tears. They occur in the rotator cuff. The rotator cuff is made of four muscles that secure the upper arm in the shoulder socket. They allow the shoulder full range of motion. People likely to suffer from overuse injuries are baseball pitchers, golfers, swimmers, and tennis and volleyball players. People who work with hand tools or do a lot of shoulder movement at work may also have problems.

Overuse injuries develop slowly. Eventually, pain is felt during and after activity. Seek medical help if pain exists when an arm is raised above the head, or during any activity.

Treat a mild case of shoulder pain caused by tendonitis or bursitis with rest. Apply ice during the first day or two, then try heat. Take aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen sodium to reduce inflammation. These medications should not be taken without approval from your healthcare provider if the person has an ulcer, kidney problems, an allergy to aspirin, or is on a blood-thinning medication.

Do gentle exercises to build strength and restore range of motion to the joint. Get medical advice for the right exercises to do. Rotator cuff tendonitis responds well to moist heat, ultrasound, and gentle exercises, such as stretching.

To prevent shoulder injuries, learn how to fall properly. You should tuck and roll. Avoid falling on an outstretched arm. Use proper form when doing an activity. When recovering from a shoulder injury, be sure to follow a conditioning program to develop strength and flexibility in and around the joint. Do range of motion exercises 10 times daily. When swimming, replace the crawl or butterfly strokes with the breast stroke or sidestroke.

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