Shoulder pain may be caused by an injury, frozen shoulder, arthritis or overuse. Sports such as hockey, rugby, repeated throwing, bowling, jujitsu, tennis or HIIT workouts are also common causes of shoulder injuries.

When To See Your Doctor?

Pain felt anywhere in your body is a true signal something is wrong within. Chronic shoulder pain that persists even after treatments such as: massage therapy, physiotherapy, chiropractic or acupuncture is most often a sign that there is a serious injury.  It is best to visit your doctor to investigate and determine the diagnosis and treatment. An ultrasound followed by an MRI might be recommended. In some cases, if there is a tear in the rotator cuff muscle and soft tissues then surgery may be required.

Seeing a doctor who specialises in sports medicine often treat these injuries with surgical stabilisation.

In the meantime, ice your shoulder for 15-20 minutes as much as you can throughout the day. Seek massage therapy to release any muscles that may be compensating for the weakness and instability in your rotator cuff, and avoid anything that aggravates the injury or causes pain.

It is important to keep using your arm to avoid developing a frozen shoulder. This is when the muscles and tissues supporting your shoulder lock up and makes any movement of the arm painful.