SHOULDER & NECK PAIN

Even though the neck (or cervical spine) and the shoulder are closely connected, there are accompanying symptoms for each.

Clinic identifies pain that originates in your shoulder typically:

• Develops in the shoulder itself or on the outside of your upper arm
• Radiates pain into your upper arm
• Gets worse when you reach overhead or behind your back, or when lifting
• Is worse at night, especially when lying on your side
• Is more of a dull, persistent ache
• Feels better after resting your arm

• Radiates to your shoulder blade, or close to or on the side of your neck
• Pain that feels like an electrical shock, sometimes radiating down your arm
• Radiates pain down past your elbow or even into your hand
• Pain that gets worse when you twist or move your neck
• Pain that’s not relieved by rest, but may be relieved with support

Common causes of neck pain are

• Abnormalities in the bone or joints causing imbalance
• Trauma
• Poor posture
• Degenerative diseases
• Tumors
• Muscle strain

Because pain in one area can so often be confused with another, a thorough exam must be done:-

• including range of motion,
• strength testing
• provocative neck and shoulder maneuvers.

• Strains from overexertion
• Tendonitis from overuse
• Shoulder joint instability
• Dislocation
• Clavicle or upper arm bone fractures
• Frozen shoulder (stiffness and pain in your shoulder joint)
• Pinched nerves (also called cervical radiculopathy)
• Rotator cuff tears

(rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that surround the shoulder joint)