About the diagnostic agent
The use of our “self” diagnostic tool is simple. Just follow the link offered for the location and description of the symptoms that best fits your symptoms. Pay attention to where the pain is greatest in the shoulder joint.
Where is your pain located?
For the purpose of orientation, shoulder pain can be divided into anterior and posterior shoulder pain, each of which is based on typical disorders due to the anatomical structure of the shoulder joint. Acute and chronic shoulder pain can be distinguished from each other within the more common anterior shoulder pain. The most common cause of acute front shoulder pain is dislocation of the shoulder joint.
In about 80-90% of shoulder dislocations, the head of humerus slips forward and down out of the socket, compressing the surrounding structures and causing severe pain. A rare reason for acute pain in the right shoulder region can, however, surprisingly also be a gallstone. Here, the pain radiates from the abdominal cavity into the shoulder due to certain nerve connections.
Chronic shoulder pain is more difficult to discuss because it can result from a wide variety of pathological processes. Inflammations of the bursae, which are located mainly in the front, are particularly common here, i.e. bursitis. Since this is an inflammation, the pain is often accompanied by redness and swelling, which can make it easier to distinguish it from the other causes of anterior shoulder pain.
Other causes of anterior shoulder pain can be degenerative changes in muscles or tendons, which can lead to muscle or tendon tears, whereupon the chronic pain turns into acute pain. Even in the case of posterior shoulder pain, acute pain must be distinguished from chronic pain. Acute posterior shoulder pain is often caused by a vertebral blockage in the area of the thoracic or lumbar spine.
In addition to movement restrictions, pain radiates from the spinal column into the rear shoulder. Chronic pain in the area of the rear shoulder can be caused by an impingement syndrome. It is typical for this syndrome that the patient feels strong pain, especially between 60 and 120°, when the stretched arm is lifted sideways (“painful arc”).
The chronic pain can turn into an acute one when a degenerated tendon of the supraspinous muscle ruptures. Finally, there are diseases that can trigger anterior, posterior or even global pain in the shoulder joint. These include muscular tensions which, depending on where they originate, can cause pain in the front or rear shoulder joint (e.g. as a result of a herniated disc or shoulder blade malposition).
Osteoarthritis, on the other hand, often triggers centrally located shoulder pain, with areas of particular pain at certain points (depending on which shoulder joint is affected). Anterior shoulder pain usually refers almost exclusively to pain in the area of the anterior shoulder joint. In addition to pain in the area of the anterior rotator cuff and the biceps tendon, this also includes pain in the area of the acromioclavicular joint (AC joint) and the clavicle. Anterior shoulder joint pain can be caused by direct damage to the specific anatomical structures, but it can also originate from a more distant anatomical region and thus appear as “conducted pain”.
