Shoulder injury and what to do next!

Individuals will often injure their shoulders in automobile, bicycle, truck, and motorcycle accidents. Injuries usually occur when the shoulder has either been directly impacted or has been extended in an unusual way. Seatbelts can also cause injury to shoulders.

There are several categories of shoulder injuries that occur because of accidents. The first category is an impingement syndrome. In this type of injury, muscles that hold the upper arm into the shoulder are damaged or injured, allowing pressure to build on the Bursa and the shoulder joint to be excessively impinged. This type of injury causes pain when the patient raises their arm or elbow up to or above their shoulder.

Shoulder derangement can occur when the actual muscles or ligaments of the shoulder are damaged because of a blow or excessive movement. A rotator cuff tear, as diagnosed by MRI, causes the person to experience weakness or an inability to use the shoulder fully without pain or limitation.

The last type of injury to the bony structures of the shoulder itself. In motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, and more direct impacts, there can be fractures to the clavicle, fractures of the bones supporting the shoulder, and of the arm.

You need an experienced medical professional to make your shoulder injury diagnosis. Shoulder injuries are misdiagnosed when there is radiating pain or symptoms emanating from the neck. Nerves run from the neck through the shoulder, and if they are irritated by a disc injury or by an injury to the muscles of the neck, the pain can seem like it is coming from the shoulder, but in realty, it is actually a neck injury.

Shoulder injury, if caught early, can be rehabilitated with physical therapy. However, if the shoulder is left unattended for a period of time, a frozen shoulder or an impingement syndrome can actually get worse.

Consult an orthopedist, chiropractor or kinesiologist immediately if you have sustained a shoulder injury. The earlier that it is treated and restored to it's active range of motion, the better a patient is likely to fully recover. If you had a shoulder injury because of an accident, contact us at 1-866-981-5596 for a free consultation.



James Ballidis is the managing attorney for Allen, Flatt, Ballidis & Leslie and has been practicing personal injury law for 25 years.