Tag Archives: shoulder pain

Replacing Your Shoulder in Reverse

In conventional shoulder replacement surgery, the surgeon fits a plastic cup into the shoulder socket and attaches a metal ball to the top of the upper arm bone. But for some patients, especially those with muscle damage around the shoulder or large rotator cuff tears who have developed a complex type of shoulder arthritis, conventional […]

Putting Your Rotator Cuff Back Together

Rotator cuff tears, a common injury, send as many as 2 million Americans to their physicians’ offices every year. While many cases can be treated with conservative measures, such as physical therapy, others require rotator cuff repair surgery. One factor affecting surgery outcome is the presence of fat in place of muscle, a condition that […]

Shoulder the Work of a Tuberosity Fracture

At the head of the arm’s humerus bone, where the muscles of the rotator cuff are attached, is a rounded section called the greater tuberosity. A dislocation or a fall on the shoulder can cause the greater tuberosity to fracture, leading to pain when lifting the arm or moving the shoulder, and limiting your range […]

Relieving Dowager’s Hump Through Exercise

Older individuals with osteoporosis often develop spinal kyphosis, resulting in the formation of a pronounced hunchback, sometimes called a “dowager’s hump” (kyphos means “hump” in Greek). Kyphosis occurs because a spinal vertebra, usually at the level of the rib cage, becomes weak and porous. Eventually, something as innocent as a sneeze or cough causes the […]

TENS: A Drug-free Way to Relieve Pain

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) may sound futuristic—even scary—but this method of pain relief is actually a great drug-free way to relieve discomfort from injuries or chronic conditions. When the TENS equipment is used, patches called electrodes are applied to your skin (“transcutaneous” means “through the skin”) and are attached to a small, battery-operated device […]