Why does my right shoulder hurt?

    Pain in right shoulder from time to time it can bother a person and very often there are many reasons for its appearance. The main and dominant cause of pain is not always easy to independently determine, so patients can characterize it as painful sensations of unknown etiology.

    The nature of the pain and its localization can indicate its root cause and become a signal about the beginning of any painful processes in the human body.

Causes of pain in the right shoulder

     Only a doctor can tell the main cause of the pain, but initially you should take into account the main points that cause pain in the right shoulder:

    
• Tendinitis is an inflammation of the tendons that surround the shoulder joint. Most often, the cause for the development of tendonitis is uneven and strong physical activity. In most cases, this is a disease of athletes and people whose activities involve physical labor. The pain in the right shoulder with tendinitis is often dull, felt during palpation (palpation) or during active movements of the arm with an inflamed tendon, while similar passive movements are painless.

    

• Bursitis is an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the shoulder joint. Bursitis is caused by injuries and microdamages, heavy physical work, heavy stress during sports, and infections. It is expressed by pain on palpation, swelling and increased temperature of the affected area. During this disease, painful sensations are often causeless and begin to increase with hand movements.

    

• Sudden, intense and prolonged pain in the right shoulder, which appears and increases when the arm is raised or abducted 90 degrees, indicates a suspicion of calcium deposits in the tendon passing under the collarbone.

    

• Humeral periarthritis is a state of complete immobilization of the joint, when active and passive movements become impossible due to acute and severe pain. This disease mostly affects people over 50 years of age. Unfortunately, the exact cause of the disease has not yet been established, but often the catalyst for its development is diseases of the cervical spine and a long-term state of immobilization of the arm.

    

• Injury or other damage to the cervical spine also causes pain in the right shoulder. It manifests itself as numbness and tingling in the hand, which increases when turning the head.

    

• Diseases of the lungs, liver, tumors in the chest organs can also become one of the factors of painful sensations.

How does pain in the right shoulder manifest?

     The symptoms of pain in the right shoulder are somewhat different from the symptoms of general diseases of the joints and musculoskeletal system, so you should especially listen to such pain, as they can indicate pathologies of other organs and systems. The main symptoms of pain in the right shoulder include:

    
• Dull pain in the right shoulder, which is especially felt upon palpation.

    

• Painful sensations during both active and passive movements of the arm.

    

• Swelling, redness and increased temperature of the joint.

    

• Increased and constant pain when raising and moving the arm to the side.

    

• Complete immobilization of the joint due to pain.

    

• Numbness and tingling in the hand and entire arm.

    

• Spinal disorders can also cause pain in the right shoulder.

    

• Acute painful sensations that appear immediately after sudden movements of the arm or lifting weights.

Pain radiating to the right shoulder

Referring pain in the right shoulder in most cases appears due to its irradiation (spread) from other diseased organs in the human body. The main ones on the list are diseases of the spine (especially the thoracic and cervical regions). This kind of pain is localized in the back and, accordingly, radiates to the scapula. An equally popular cause of radiating pain is inflammation of the digestive organs: the pancreas, liver, gallbladder and its duct, which occurs due to muscle spasm and blockage of the bile ducts. Renal colic also tends to cause pain. In this case, the pain in the right shoulder is aching, in the area of ​​the scapula it is pressing, the patient’s well-being sharply worsens, blood pressure drops, and the skin turns pale. When unbearable, radiating pain occurs in the right shoulder, the immediate help will be to take anesthetics, but it is worth remembering that when the root cause is serious, then the use of anesthetics threatens to worsen the condition. In this situation, you should immediately call a doctor.

Aching pain in right shoulder

     When a patient complains of aching pain in the right shoulder, then a thorough medical examination should be carried out, since this symptom can indicate many both obvious and hidden potential health problems. These problems, as often happens, are related not to the dysfunction of the joint itself, but to the dysfunction of other organs and systems of the body.

     The aching pain in the right shoulder mostly increases and intensifies gradually. If you feel muscle stiffness and limited movement, then this will most likely be caused by diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Also, pain can be a signal of such a potentially dangerous disease as acute cholecystitis, so if a person has a history of, or has had, diseases of the liver and gallbladder, then consultation with a doctor should be immediate so as not to aggravate the patient’s condition.

     If the aching pain in the right shoulder is related to the joint itself, then we can talk about either inflammation of the tendons and muscles due to physical overload, or an even worse condition – developing glenohumeral periarthritis, so a visit to the doctor in this case cannot be postponed.

Sharp pain in right shoulder

     Sharp pain in the right shoulder usually occurs suddenly, for example, when a person changes the position of the arm and joint, or when lifting a heavy object. In most cases, the painful sensations subside immediately after he takes a passive position of the hand or lets go of the weight, in this case we are talking about diseases of the musculoskeletal system. This may be arthritis, arthrosis, periarthritis, tendonitis (inflammation of the tendon), myositis (inflammation of the muscles). Another cause of sharp pain in the right shoulder can be an injury: a dislocation or severe bruise. As a rule, diseases of the internal organs can rarely cause sharp and radiating pain in the right shoulder. The only exception can be acute diseases, when the painful sensations are so strong that they can spread throughout the body.

     Sharp pain in the right shoulder, both temporary and long-lasting, is very difficult to endure, so emergency treatment will include taking an anesthetic, applying a cold compress (in case of injury) and further hospitalization if necessary.

Sharp pain in right shoulder

     Acute pain in the right shoulder often occurs due to an exacerbation of some chronic disease of the joint itself, the spine, an internal organ or the entire body. This may be an exacerbation of the previously listed diseases of the musculoskeletal system and an exacerbation of diseases of the internal organs (cholecystitis, renal colic). Initially, the pain in the right shoulder is aching, pulling, but if it is not counteracted, then it gradually increases and develops into an acute form. The first emergency aid in this situation is the same as for severe pain described earlier.

Dull pain in right shoulder

     A dull pain in the right shoulder indicates an inflammatory process in a tendon, joint, joint muscle, or directly about a disease of the spine itself. The cause may be the accumulation of calcium salts, osteochondrosis, osteoporosis, pinched nerve or intervertebral disc, tendinitis, myositis, and tendon rupture. In most cases, this type of pain is tolerable for a person and therefore the patient does not always seek help from a specialist, but tries to treat himself, using the available means of traditional medicine or pharmaceutical drugs. With such self-medication, the patient can further worsen his health condition and over time, the disease often develops into another, more complex form, when drastic treatment measures need to be applied. Therefore, you should not ignore painful sensations, no matter how tolerable or unbearable they may be.

Nagging pain in right shoulder

     A nagging pain in the right shoulder is very often accompanied by a dull pain and in most cases can appear for several reasons:

    
• pinched nerve in the cervical or thoracic spine.

    

• stretching a muscle or tendon.

    

• tendon rupture.

    

• injuries or previous fractures of the arm or shoulder.

    

• salt deposits.

     Nagging pain in the right shoulder always brings great discomfort to a person, and if the cause of such pain is not serious, then it can be alleviated by lightly massaging the painful area using local anesthetic anti-inflammatory ointment and gel, and also try not to strain the joint, providing it with rest and temporary immobilization.

Diagnosis of pain in the right shoulder

     There are a huge number of reasons for the appearance of pain in the right shoulder, so correct diagnosis of the disease is very important, since a correct diagnosis can help choose the right treatment strategy, as well as speed up the process of treatment and recovery.

     Diagnosis is based on an analysis of the patient’s complaints, the conclusion of an X-ray examination, and, if necessary, laboratory tests are also carried out. To compile an accurate and detailed history, it is necessary to obtain the following from the patient:

    
• When did the pain in the right shoulder first appear, what kind of pain did it have?

    

• how often and when the pain occurs.

    

• were there or have a history of chronic diseases of the body.

    

• what illnesses have you suffered in the near future?

    

• how the patient copes with pain in the right shoulder, what medications he takes.

     First of all, you need to seek help from a therapist, and only then, in the process of establishing the cause of the disease, contact other specialists in order to prescribe more accurate and effective treatment.

Treatment for right shoulder pain

     When the exact cause of pain in the right shoulder is known, then correctly selected treatment and, accordingly, strict adherence to the treatment regimen will much faster speed up the process of healing from pain in the joint. If the cause of the disease is hidden not in the joint itself, but in some other organ, then the source of the disease must be treated first, but, as we know, there can be many sources. If the cause of the pain is directly in the shoulder itself (joint, tendon or muscle), then, as with any disease, an integrated approach to treatment is required. Let’s consider a few main points:

    
• Diet and nutrition regimen. If the cause of pain in the right shoulder lies in a disease of the musculoskeletal system, then proper and rational nutrition will help the body cope with the disease. The most common consequence of poor nutrition is the deposition of uric acid salts in the joint. In this situation, it is necessary to limit the consumption of foods that contribute to the deposition of salts, such as flour, meat, canned foods, and sweets. In order to normalize the salt balance, it will be useful to eat fresh vegetables and fruits, and dairy products. It is also important to consume calcium and vitamin D3, as well as drugs that affect mineral metabolism in the bones, for example the drugs “Osteogenon”, “Osteochel C” (1 tablet 3 times a day).

    

• Drug treatment. Regarding medications, first of all, for joint diseases, arthritis, arthrosis, bursitis, you need to take painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, these are Ibuprofen, Diclofenac, Ketoprofen; chondroprotectors “Alflutop”, “Glucosamine”; combination drugs “Ambene”, “Apizartron”. But it is worth remembering that only a doctor should prescribe these medications, since the dosage of these medications is set individually for each patient.

    

• Physiotherapy for pain in the right shoulder is today a very effective and highly effective treatment method. There are many physical therapy methods, all of which are aimed at eliminating a specific symptom:

      

  
          
  • pain reduction (SUV irradiation).

          

  • joint restoration (magnetic therapy).

          

  • relieving inflammation (infrared laser therapy, low-intensity UHF therapy, high-intensity SMV therapy).

          

  • improvement of blood supply (ultrasound, hydrogen sulfide and radon baths).

      

     You can also additionally engage in physical therapy and undergo a massage course, if there are no contraindications. General contraindications for the use of physiotherapy include diseases of the central nervous system, seizures, tuberculosis, blood diseases, and cancer.

    
• Surgical treatment is used in extremely advanced cases or when there is no positive effect from drug treatment. Modern medicine has reached a high level of development, so today most surgical interventions in the treatment of the musculoskeletal system have a positive outcome and allow the patient to return to a full life.

    

• Treatment with traditional methods at home can be used as an additional method or as maintenance therapy, for the reason that traditional medicine is not able to cope with acute conditions of such diseases.

Preventing pain in the right shoulder

     In order to prevent the appearance of pain in the right shoulder, you need to pay attention to many factors. Eg:

    
• Nutrition. It should contain a minimum of meat, sweets and other protein-containing products.

    

• Physical activity should be optimal and not excessive. Exercise therapy, yoga and other activities that do not require much physical activity will be useful.

    

• A general body massage will improve blood flow and help relax muscles.

    

• Sleeping on a hard surface helps prevent musculoskeletal diseases and improve posture.

     Based on everything, it is worth taking into account the fact that any pain in the right shoulder should not be ignored; it is very important to consult a doctor in a timely manner and take the necessary treatment and preventive measures so that the disease does not develop into a severe stage. The patient, in turn, must approach treatment with all seriousness and responsibility, only then can one expect a positive result from the treatment and favorable prognosis.