YOU DIAGNOSED ME AS HAVING SOMETHING CALLED ROTATOR INTERVAL TEARS. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

I am so glad you asked.  The rotator interval is the part of the shoulder that consists of the front part of the supraspinatus cuff tendon, the biceps long head’s exit point from the shoulder, [...]

SHOULDER PAIN REFERRED FROM THE NECK

Many of the nerves that come the spinal cord in the neck have branches that send fibers to the shoulder; irritation of these nerves, because of the way nerves work (often causing a phenomenom [...]

SUBACROMIAL BURSITIS

While almost all rotator cuff tears have an associated subacromial bursitis, the bursa can become inflammed without the cuff being torn.  This often happens with overuse or even with sleeping in [...]

SHOULDER INSTABILITY

This problem is very common in athletes, especially overhead and collision/contact athletes.  The variations of shoulder instability are too great to discuss here exhaustively, but are described [...]

ADHESIVE CAPSULITIS (ALSO CALLED FROZEN SHOULDER)

Frozen shoulder is one of the most painful problems a person can have with their shoulder.  In most cases, there is no known reason that it started, but the problem rather quickly results in [...]

SHOULDER OSTEOARTHRITIS (WEAR OF THE GLENOHUMERAL JOINT)

The articular cartilage that lines our joints is truly incredible.  It is made up of multiple layers and is rigidly fixed to the underlying bone.  Loss of articular cartilage manifests as [...]

WHAT IS THE ROTATOR CUFF AND WHAT GOES WRONG WITH IT?

There are 4 deep muscle tendon units that are interwoven to some degree and their collective job is to take the torque out of the shoulder to keep the humeral head centeredon the glenoid and also [...]

WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON SHOULDER PROBLEMS?

In my practice, the most common problems are, in order: Rotator cuff tears Shoulder osteoarthritis Adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder) Shoulder instability Acromioclavicular joint arthritis and [...]

SO, HOW IS THE SHOULDER STABILIZED?

The shoulder is stabilized both passively and actively.  The labrum (Latin for ‘lip’) is a fibrous ring that deepens the socket and also provides attachment for the shoulder capsular ligaments as [...]

WHY DO YOU LOVE THE SHOULDER JOINT SO MUCH?

There is no other joint in creation like the human shoulder.  A hip joint resembles a trailer hitch and the knee is a rotating gliding hinge, but the shoulder is like a golf ball on a tee that is [...]