Elbows & Shoulders

You may not realize it, but your elbows and shoulders are vulnerable to stress and injury due to their use for many tasks throughout the day. Arthritis is the leading cause of pain for both elbows and shoulders, which causes limited mobility, pain, stiffness and weakness. At our office, we diagnose and treat a wide variety of shoulder and elbow injuries including trauma, athletic injuries, degenerative diseases, fractures and other painful conditions. Read below about some of the conditions we treat.

What is it?

Arthritis is a general disease that can affect multiple tissues inside the body’s joints. The joint is where two bones meet, and arthritis occurs when the tissues that protect that joint becomes inflamed or begin to wear away. The affected tissues could be cartilage, tendons, ligaments, muscles or synovial membranes.

Symptoms

Symptoms of arthritis can include pain in the joints that comes and goes, but increases over time and when being used. Another symptom may be a loss of range of motion in the joint accompanied by swelling or grinding and cracking noises.

Treatment Options

Arthritis is treated in a number of ways including steroid injections, anti-inflammatory medicine and even surgical treatments.

What is it?

Tennis Elbow isn’t just for tennis players. Actually, this refers to the pain associated with overuse syndrome of the elbow. Many times, tennis players will get this problem, but it’s not limited to just tennis players. It occurs when tendons begin to detach due to overuse.

Symptoms

Tennis elbow can have pain starting in the elbow all the way up to the wrist and fingers. Additionally, it can have an effect on the ability to grip things, lift things and do other activities.

Treatment Options

The list of treatments for this injury includes rest, anti-inflammatory medication, braces, physical therapy, steroid injections, shockwave treatment and surgery.

What is it?

Golfer’s Elbow is not the same thing as tennis elbow. This injury involves the tendons that connect the forearm muscles to the forearm bones. This injury occurs after repetitive injuries.

Symptoms

The symptoms of this injury include pain in the elbow and into the forearm that increase with use and when gripping things.

Treatment Options

The list of treatments for this injury includes rest, anti-inflammatory medication, braces, physical therapy, steroid injections, shockwave treatment and surgery.

What is it?

Cubital tunnel syndrome happens when there is too much pressure placed on the ulnar nerve in the elbow. When this is compressed, it prohibits the nerve from functioning properly, leading to pain.

Symptoms

The symptoms of this injury include pain, numbness or a tingling sensation in the elbow. It can feel similar to the symptoms of having your “funny bone” hit.

Treatment Options

Most of the time, this injury will subside with non-surgical treatments. However, surgery may be required in severe cases.

What is it?

The rotator cuff is made up of the four main should muscles and their attached tendons. This injury occurs when one or more of the tendons is torn, strained or ruptured in some way.

Symptoms

Rotator cuff injuries are common with athletes such as baseball players or tennis players. Additionally, the injury will cause pain and discomfort in the shoulder, especially when lifting the hands over the head.

Treatment Options

These injuries are treated in a number of ways including steroid injections, anti-inflammatory medicine, and even surgical treatments.

What is it?

This is a new surgical treatment that is available for shoulders that have been damaged. This replaces the shoulder with a new, artificial joint.

Symptoms

You may need reverse total shoulder replacement if you’re suffering from a complex shoulder condition or degenerative illness.

Treatment Options

There are two surgical options for shoulder replacement. However, shoulder pain can be treated in other ways as prescribed by your doctor.