Symptoms

The main symptom of a calcified shoulder is (sometimes very severe) pain. This occurs mainly during movements involving the muscle of the affected tendon. As this is usually the supraspinatus tendon, most patients with a calcified shoulder experience particular pain when the arm is moved over the head or outwards, as the supraspinatus muscle plays an important role in these movements.

The pain often has a rather stabbing character and can radiate into the neck or the wider arm. Pain is also typically experienced at night when sleeping on the affected side. This pain is usually accompanied by more or less pronounced restrictions in the movement of the shoulder joint.

In the worst case, paralysis of the entire arm can develop. Symptoms may develop slowly over a longer period of time, become steadily worse or even subside on their own at some point, or suddenly become severe without any recognizable acute trigger. In the case of a calcified shoulder, the pain initially occurs directly in the shoulder joint, especially when working overhead or under heavy loads, but over time pain also occurs in the upper arm.

On the one hand, this can be due to calcification of the biceps, which also runs through the shoulder joint, and on the other hand, compensatory overloading of the upper arm muscles can occur if the rotator cuff is increasingly restricted in its strength due to the calcification.Affected persons suffer from pain in the shoulder, especially at night, especially when lying on the affected shoulder. The pressure on the joint causes increased pain, blood circulation is also impaired and the symptoms can worsen. In the case of bursitis associated with the calcified shoulder, pulsating pain can also occur at night, regardless of the lying position.

Acute phase of the calcified shoulder

The acute phase of a calcification shoulder is to be expected after the actual calcification phase. When the body begins to dissolve the calcification deposits, an immune reaction begins in which cells enter the tissue and break down the calcification foci. This releases inflammation mediators and results in severe pain, warming, redness, swelling and functional impairment of the shoulder. These processes can also cause inflammation of surrounding structures, such as the bursae.