The shoulder is the most flexible and the most important joints in our bodies. However and unfortunately, as we age our shoulders tend to wear out plus they are subjected to debilitating conditions such as diseases, arthritis, or injuries. Surgeons are specialized in shoulder related procedures meant to repair muscles, connective tissues or damaged joints which arise from traumatic injuries or diseases.

Understanding the Anatomy of the Shoulder

In order to understand what surgeons do, you need to first understand how the shoulder works. Basically, the shoulder is a ball and socket joint which is made up of three bones: humerus (upper arm bone), scapula (shoulder blade) and the clavicle (collarbone). The ball at the end of the arm bone fits into the glenoid (socket) of the scapula to form the blade.

Common Problems

Doctor encounter a variety of shoulder related problems and where possible they treat or repair the problem. Whatever your shoulder problem is, the first step undertaken by surgeons is to reach out to their medical partners for consultation. Considering that most of these surgeons tend to specialize in different areas of shoulder surgery, they are usually ready to alleviate your shoulder pain.

Some of the most common shoulder related problems include:

€ Full-Thickness Rotator Cuff Tears: These are the most common cuff tears and they come about as a result of heavy lifting, impingement, or falls. The treatment of this kind of problem in most cases does not involve visits to shoulder surgeons. However, a visit to a shoulder surgeon might become inevitable if the pain continues as surgery may be required to repair the tears.

€ Shoulder Instability: This usually occurs when the head of the upper arm bone is forced out of the shoulder socket. This could happen as a result of sudden injury or as a result of you overusing your ligaments. Patients with severe cases of shoulder instability usually require surgery. Such surgeries usually require a very short stay in the hospital.

€ Other related problems that might require a visit to a shoulder surgeon include bursitis, fractured collarbone, and fractured humerus among others.

What to Expect From Shoulder Surgeons

When you visit a shoulder surgeon for an orthopedic evaluation of your shoulder, he or she will take you through a series of tests and fact finding evaluations. He or she will look into your medical history with special focus on your current complications, related pain, and duration of symptoms, injuries and past treatment. Physical examinations performed by shoulder surgeons are specifically aimed at assessing the level of your shoulder complications. They will subject you to tests which determine your shoulder strength, range of motion, tenderness, instability, and the presence of any deformity. Lastly, he or she will perform diagnostic tests such as taking X-rays of your shoulder in various positions or perform an MRI or a CT scan in order to evaluate the parts of your shoulder and get a clear picture of where the problem is.