Introduction
The shoulder joint is the most mobile joint in the human body. Its great mobility comes from the relatively small bony joint surfaces. Movement in the shoulder joint is therefore not restricted by bony structures, as is the case with some other joints, such as the hip joint.
In order to achieve a certain stability of the joint nevertheless, the shoulder surrounds the so-called rotator cuff. This consists of four different muscles that surround the joint like a cuff and thus stabilize and protect it in its position. Functional problems therefore often affect the muscles of the rotator cuff.
Shoulder pain can occur at any age and there are a variety of causes. Shoulder pain can be acute and can occur, for example, during sports or after lifting a heavy load. It is also often a chronic condition (e.g. due to joint wear).
Shoulder pain is usually very debilitating and severely restricts the everyday life of the person affected, but it can often be well treated by consistent and long-term physiotherapy to strengthen the muscles. Only in a few cases is an operation for shoulder pain unavoidable. As a rule, the pain originates in the soft tissues of the shoulder joint, which means that muscles, tendons, bursae, joint capsule and synovial fluid are affected.
Diseases of the cervical spine can also cause severe pain in the shoulder, usually radiating into the arm or hand. Shoulder pain often impairs the mobility of the arm and many everyday activities are difficult to perform. In order to be able to make the correct diagnosis, information about the patient’s medical history (anamnesis) and physical examination are required, as well as imaging procedures such as ultrasound, X-ray, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computer tomography. The therapy of shoulder pain is specifically directed towards the cause of the complaints and offers many possibilities ranging from drug treatment and physiotherapy exercises to surgical interventions.
