Dr. Babicha Haobam

Shoulder pain and injuries

The shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint that has three main bones: the humerus (long arm bone), the clavicle (collarbone), and the scapula (also known as the shoulder blade). These bones are cushioned by a layer of cartilage

The shoulder joint is a very mobile joint which makes it very susceptible to injury. It moves the shoulder forward and backward. It also allows the arm to move in a circular motion, and to move up and away from the body.

Shoulders get their range of motion from the rotator cuff. The rotator cuff is made up of four tendons. Tendons are the tissues that connect muscles to bone. It may be painful or difficult to lift your arm over your head if the tendons or bones around the rotator cuff are damaged or swollen.
You can injure your shoulder by performing manual labor, playing sports, or even by repetitive movement. Certain diseases can bring about pain that travels to the shoulder. These include diseases of the cervical spine of the neck, as well as liver, heart, or gallbladder disease.
You're more likely to have problems with your shoulder as you grow older. It is especially common after age 60. This is because the soft tissues surrounding the shoulder tend to degenerate with age.
Most shoulder pain problems are:

•   tendonitis/bursitis, injury or instability of the joint, or arthritic disease.
•   rotator cuff syndrome is a strain or sprain or tear of the tendons that make up the rotator cuff.
•   rarely, tumors, infections, and nerve damage cause shoulder pain.
•   much neck pain is caused by soft tissue damage due to injuries such as whiplash or wear and tear due to overuse.
•   damage to spine joints and bones, such as cervical disk degeneration, arthritis, or traumatic injury can cause severe pain and disability.
•   fibromyalgia (whole body pain syndrome) can contribute to neck and upper back pain. Poor posture while performing everyday activities can also cause significant neck pain. Rarely, infections or tumors will cause neck pain.
•   pinching a nerve in the neck or shoulder, or breaking a shoulder or arm bone, are also causes of pain.
•   a frozen shoulder is when tendons, ligaments, and muscles stiffen and become difficult or impossible to move.
•   a dislocated shoulder is when the ball of the humerus pulls out of the shoulder socket. An injury due to overuse or repetitive use can cause injury

A work environment that's good for the body is very important. Most of us spend hours each day sitting in front of our computer.
The first step to creating an ergonomic workstation is to consider how you spend most of your time at the workstation.

Lower back pain is a very common issue and can take place due to numerous reasons. However, one of its main causes is a ligament strain or back muscle strain. Microscopic tear or excessive stretching of ligaments can take place due to lifting very heavy objects, doing enormously strenuous task or due to a sudden twisted movement. These conditions are most likely to be experienced by individuals ranging between the ages of 30 and 60. Other causes of lower back pain include back injury, arthritis of back bone joints, infections in the lower back area, and in very rare cases, tumours.

In case of acute back pain, these are a few important things that should be definitely kept in mind.

1. It is absolutely essential to take rest for a couple of days and avoid any sort of stressful activity. Although back pain is self-limiting, if you take proper care, it can be cured in a few days. However, if proper rest is not taken, the situation may become worse.
2. Using the black belt, also known as lumbo sacral corset, is a good idea. This can actually be of enormous help to individuals who have been suffering from lower back pain for a long period of time.
3. As already mentioned, one of the main causes of these kinds of mishaps are sudden jerky movements, twisted movements, heavy weight lifting etc. So, it is necessary to avoid such circumstances, or else, a more acute back pain situation may arise due to slipping of one of the discs from the spinal cord.
4. As much as you like long drives and bike rides, these are a strict no. Any prolonged sitting or standing activity needs to be avoided. It is important that the tear caused in the muscles due to what-so-ever reason heals properly and prolonged stay in a tensed muscle position would definitely not help the cause.
5. Although these back pains can be handled at home by following the discussed steps, using simple analgesics or muscle relaxants prescribed by the doctor can be a way to speed up the process of recovering the strained ligament.

Apart from these important steps, regular exercise to strengthen the core body muscles is a great way to avoid such ligament strains in the future. However, if you feel that even after following the precautionary measures, you problem doesn’t subside, visit an experienced doctor for his advice. In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!