Lee A. Kaback, MD

Osteoarthritis, also called degenerative arthritis, is a gradual breakdown of cartilage in the joints. Cartilage is a tough, flexible connective tissue that protects the ends of bones in the joints. Osteoarthritis of the shoulder can severely impact a person’s lifestyle.

This is a looseness of the shoulder joint. With it, your arm slides around too much in the socket. It may slip out of the socket easily. Instability can happen because the ligaments that hold your shoulder together aren’t tight enough. Or, the cartilage around your shoulder socket may be damaged.

This is a painful pinching of soft tissues in your shoulder. It happens when these tissues rub and press against a part of your shoulder blade called the “acromion.” This can irritate your rotator cuff tendons, and also a soft sac called the “subacromial bursa.”

If overuse has led to pain in the front of your shoulder, you may have an injury we call “weightlifter’s shoulder.” It’s a type of damage that most often affects the end of the clavicle (commonly called the “collarbone”).

This condition is a fracture of the head of the humerus – the “ball” of the shoulder’s ball-and-socket.

This painful condition occurs when calcium deposits form in tendons of the rotator cuff. These tendons and surrounding tissues in the shoulder become inflamed. This condition typically affects adults.

This arthritis affects a joint at the top of your shoulder. It’s where the shoulder blade’s bony protrusion (called the “acromion”) meets the clavicle. This joint acts as a pivot point when you raise your arm above your head.

Tendons are strong bands of tissue that connect muscle to bone. With this injury, one of the tendons anchoring your biceps muscle is torn. It may be torn partially or completely. Because the biceps is attached with two separate tendons, you may find that you can still use your biceps muscle even if one tendon is completely torn.

The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons in each shoulder. It holds your upper arm bone in your shoulder socket. It keeps your arm stable while allowing it to lift and rotate. Too much stress on the rotator cuff can cause a tear. This can be a painful injury.

Our shoulders are the most movable joints in the body. They give our arms great range of motion. They allow us to lift and control heavy loads. Shoulder pain is a problem many of us feel at some time in our lives. Let’s learn about shoulder pain, and what you can do about it.