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Shoulder Injury
Athletes who are involved in sports which call for use of shoulders are more prone to shoulder injuries as compared to others. People involved in football, discus throwing, javelin and other similar sports are likely to sustain shoulder injuries.
Some of the injuries caused to different parts of the shoulder are:
Rotator Cuff Injury
The rotator cuff muscles control rotation of the shoulder. They consist of the infraspinatus, teres minor and supraspinatus which rotate the shoulder outwards and the subscapularis which is one of the muscles which rotate the shoulder inwards.
These rotator cuff muscles are put under a great deal of strain especially in throwing events and racket sports where your arm is above your head a lot. A sudden sharp pain in the shoulder would indicate a possible rupture of a tendon, while a gradual onset is more likely to be inflammation.
Symptoms:
- Pain on overhead activity such as throwing or racket sports
- Pain when you bend the arm and rotate it outwards against resistance
Impingement Syndrome
(Swimmer's shoulder / Thrower's shoulder)
Impingement syndrome is when the rotator cuff tendons (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis) become trapped in the shoulder joint. Repeated impingement leads to inflammation and thickening, which in turn results in more impingement and trapping of the inflamed tendons.
The original cause can be overuse or one traumatic incident such as a fall. This is a common condition in swimmers and throwers as well as racket players or any athlete who make repeated movements with arms above shoulders
Symptoms:
- Pain in the shoulder when the arm is lifted above the horizontal
- Pain is often present when the arms are raised up and out to the side in a 60 degree arc between the angles of 70 and 130 degrees - worse at around 90 degrees
Fractured Clavicle
The collar bone (or clavicle) is the bone that runs along the front of the shoulder to the breast bone (sternum). This bone is usually fractured as a result of falling badly onto an outstretched arm or onto the shoulder. It could also happen in a collision with an opponent in a contact sport such as Rugby or American Football. The likelihood of a clavicle fracture is increased if the playing surface is particularly hard.
Inflammation of the long tendon of the biceps
The biceps muscle splits into two tendons at the shoulder. The long tendon runs over the top of the humerus bone (upper arm) and attaches to the top of the shoulder blade. Inflammation of this tendon is a fairly common complaint especially with swimmers, rowers, throwers, golfers and weight lifters.
Symptoms include:
- Pain at the front of the shoulder especially when you turn the forearm outwards against resistance with the elbow bent
- Pain when you press in on the tendon at the front of the shoulder
Frozen Shoulder
(Adhesive capsulitis)
A frozen shoulder (known also as adhesive capsulitis) is a condition that occasionally occurs in older athletes. The shoulder joint is a ball and socket type joint. The top of the humerus bone (ball) fits into the socket of the shoulder. It is this joint and the surrounding capsule that becomes inflamed.
It affects around 3% of the population and is slightly more common in women. Diabetics and people aged over 40 are more likely to be affected.
Dislocated Shoulder
This is one of the most common traumatic sporting injuries and occurs frequently in contact sports such as rugby or judo. A dislocated shoulder can be either anterior or posterior dislocations.
In this injury the head of the humerus becomes dislocated from the glenohumeral joint. The most common type of dislocation is anterior dislocation (the humerus pops out the front of the joint) although occasionally an acute traumatic posterior dislocation can occur.
Symptoms of a dislocated shoulder include:
- Sudden onset of acute shoulder pain.
- A feeling of the shoulder popping out.