How to Get to the Root of Your Chronic Shoulder Pain

Shoulder pain can be tricky to diagnose. Your shoulder is a complicated joint with a huge range of motion. That means a lot of components have to work together for it to function properly.

If you’ve been dealing with shoulder pain, it could be an issue with bone, cartilage, tendon, muscle, or something else. In other words, it’s usually not easy to self-diagnose.

You might have waited to see if your shoulder would heal on its own. But if your pain persists, it’s probably time to get medical attention. That’s particularly true if you’ve had this pain for months, meaning it’s chronic.

As a specialist in shoulder pain, Dr. Halina Snowball comes alongside you to get to the root of your chronic issue. Visit her at Integrated Pain Solutions in Stamford, Connecticut, so she can start evaluating your shoulder and figuring out what’s going on.

Honing in on the cause of your shoulder pain

Shoulder pain can stem from a number of things, including issues with the structure of your shoulder itself or outside conditions. You might have damaged your rotator cuff, for example, but you may also be dealing with arthritis that’s primarily affecting your shoulder.

Because Dr. Snowball has extensive experience diagnosing and treating shoulder pain, she can help get to the root of the problem. This starts with a conversation where you tell her what your shoulder feels like, when you first noticed pain, and any activities that make it worse.

Next, Dr. Snowball physically examines your shoulder to look for clues that may tell her what’s going on. She might have you move your shoulder around to see your current range of motion or feel around for tender areas, for example.

Based on what she discovers in these initial steps, Dr. Snowball might order diagnostic tests like:

X-ray
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Computed tomography (CT) scan

These tools all give her a way to figure out what’s going on inside your shoulder and causing your pain.

Addressing the root cause of your shoulder problem

Treatment is generally most effective when it’s applied to the root cause of your problem. Care that just masks your symptoms won’t do much to alleviate your chronic shoulder pain long-term. That’s why Dr. Snowball spends time and energy figuring out what’s really going on.

Once she’s identified the root of your problem, she targets treatment there. If it’s a soft tissue issue (e.g., tendonitis), she might recommend treatments to accelerate healing, such as extracorporeal pulse activation technology (EPAT®) or platelet-rich plasma (PRP).

With care aimed directly at whatever’s causing your shoulder problem, Dr. Snowball gives you a way to move past your chronic pain. To start figuring out the root cause of your pain, call our team at 203-293-0549 to request an appointment or book one online today.