You may not give your shoulder much thought at all unless it’s hurting. When the pain starts, you realize how much you depend on your shoulder to function properly. You use your shoulder to do anything that involves lifting, throwing, pulling and reaching.
Shoulder injuries can be caused by repetitive movements found in sports and in many jobs. They can also be caused by motor vehicle collisions and falls. Anytime your shoulder bears the brunt of an impact, you are in danger of harming the muscles, ligaments and bones in it. When you hurt your shoulder, you shouldn’t try and deal with it on your own. You need to seek out the experts for help.
Types of Shoulder Injuries
During an accident, you can hurt your shoulder in several ways, all of which require some type of treatment. They include:
- Dislocation: Your arm can be twisted or pulled so that it pops out of the socket, resulting in intense pain, possible numbness, and swelling. Despite what you see on television sitcoms, you need a professional to pop your shoulder back in.
- Separation: Another painful injury is separation. When you fall or suffer some other type of impact on your shoulder, your collarbone and shoulder blade can be torn apart. You will feel searing pain and develop a bump on your shoulder.
- Fracture: People in accidents often fracture their collarbone, which means that their shoulder and arm are not being supported properly. This injury is also intensely painful and may prevent you from being able to lift your arm.
You may also experience a tear in your shoulder joint or a rotator cuff injury. The later is most often associated with a sports injury, but an accident can also damage this group of shoulder tendons and muscles. Other conditions, such as bursitis and frozen shoulder, can also result from an accident as well as simple overuse.
Treatment Options
Of course, a number of shoulder injuries will require orthopedic surgery, some of which can be performed arthroscopically. This term means the operation can be done through several small incisions and the insertion of a small camera used to guide the surgeon. Surgeons can perform numerous shoulder surgeries this way, including the mini-open rotator cuff repair, rotator cuff repair and subacromial decompression. More severe injuries may require open surgeries that are performed in the traditional manner.
Doctors may also suggest physical therapy, massage, pain management techniques and other treatments to help you avoid surgery or to help you recover after an operation. Shoulder injuries seldom heal themselves. If you are experiencing problems in this area after an accident, you need to seek professional assessment and treatment.
Regional Medical Group
In the Atlanta area, accident victims should visit a Regional Medical Group location to seek help with their shoulder injury. At Regional, they have an experienced staff that can perform complex shoulder repair and enables you to recover quickly. They will see you promptly and help you navigate the aftermath of your accident.
At Regional Medical Group, they provide needed support for their patients, and they never ask you to pay out-of-pocket. Instead, they are paid out of your legal settlement, meaning your insurance status is never a problem. They have numerous locations in the Atlanta area and throughout Georgia. For more information, call 404 943-9996.
Shoulder injuries can really limit your life because they are painful and restrict your movement. In some instances, they make completing simple chores impossible. When you injure your shoulder in an accident, seek immediate help from experts.
