Shoulder pain can make it hard to sleep, reach overhead, lift, work, drive, play sports, or enjoy family life. Dr. Barnes evaluates rotator cuff tears, shoulder arthritis, instability, biceps problems, fractures and other shoulder conditions with a practical plan built around your diagnosis and goals.
Patients often know what the shoulder is stopping them from doing before they know the diagnosis. The goal is to sort out whether pain is coming from the rotator cuff, joint surface, labrum, biceps tendon, AC joint, bone, or shoulder blade mechanics.
Soft-tissue problems, arthritis, instability and trauma can overlap. The evaluation helps identify what is actually driving pain and loss of function.
Pain, weakness, difficulty lifting the arm and night pain. Tears may be traumatic or degenerative.
Pain reaching overhead, reaching behind the back or sleeping on the shoulder.
Pain in the front of the shoulder, pain with lifting, or a visible “Popeye” deformity after rupture.
Glenohumeral arthritis and AC joint arthritis can cause stiffness, pain and loss of function.
Bankart tears, bony Bankart injuries, recurrent dislocations and feelings of slipping or apprehension.
AC joint arthritis, separations and pain at the top of the shoulder after injury or overuse.
Collarbone fractures from falls, sports injuries, cycling crashes and other trauma.
Fractures near the ball of the shoulder, often after a fall or higher-energy injury.
Abnormal shoulder blade mechanics that can contribute to pain, weakness and performance problems.
The shoulder works through the coordinated motion of the ball-and-socket joint, rotator cuff, labrum, biceps tendon, AC joint and shoulder blade. The anatomy matters because the right treatment depends on the actual source of pain.
The rotator cuff helps lift, rotate and stabilize the shoulder. Tears can cause night pain, weakness, overhead pain and difficulty lifting away from the body.
The labrum is a cartilage rim around the socket. It can tear with dislocation, instability, traction injuries or overhead sports.
The long head of the biceps can become inflamed, unstable or painful where it enters the shoulder joint.
The AC joint sits on top of the shoulder where the clavicle meets the acromion. Arthritis or separation can cause pain directly over the top of the shoulder.
The main ball-and-socket joint can develop arthritis, stiffness, grinding and loss of motion when cartilage wears down.
The shoulder blade helps position the socket. Poor scapular mechanics can contribute to pain, impingement symptoms and performance problems.
Most shoulder problems deserve a thoughtful discussion of both nonsurgical and surgical options. The right plan depends on the diagnosis, severity, imaging findings, activity goals, age, health and response to prior care.
Procedure recommendations are individualized after exam, imaging review and a discussion of goals, nonsurgical alternatives and recovery expectations. These procedure cards pair each topic with the most relevant shoulder images and advance automatically.
Minimally invasive arthroscopic shoulder surgery may be used for selected rotator cuff, labral, biceps, bursitis, impingement and instability problems.
For selected traumatic or degenerative rotator cuff tears causing pain, weakness and loss of function.
Treats selected painful biceps tendon problems by moving the tendon attachment away from the inflamed or unstable portion of the shoulder.
For recurrent dislocations, Bankart tears, bony Bankart injuries or persistent instability in athletes and active patients.
For advanced shoulder arthritis, fracture-related damage or selected irreparable cuff-related problems when nonoperative care is no longer enough.
Clavicle, proximal humerus and other shoulder-region fractures may be treated with immobilization, therapy or surgery depending on the fracture pattern.
All surgery has risk, including pain, bleeding, infection, damage to surrounding tissues, need for additional procedures, bone failure, implant failure, soft-tissue failure, blood clot, heart attack, stroke and death. These risks are low, but they are not zero.
Shoulder treatment is not just about identifying a diagnosis. It is about matching the least invasive effective treatment to your goals, activity level and recovery expectations.
Advanced training in sports medicine, arthroscopy and shoulder injuries helps guide care for athletes, active adults and complex shoulder problems.
When surgery is appropriate, many shoulder procedures can be performed arthroscopically through small incisions.
Therapy, activity modification, medications, cortisone injections, ultrasound-guided injections and orthobiologics may be part of a practical plan.
Patients should understand what the diagnosis means, what recovery usually involves, and when return to work, sport, sleep and daily activity is realistic.
Common questions from patients with shoulder pain, injuries, arthritis and instability.
Sometimes. X-rays, exam findings and symptoms guide whether MRI is useful. MRI can be helpful for suspected rotator cuff tears, labral injuries, occult fractures and selected soft-tissue problems.
Not always. Many shoulder problems improve with therapy, activity modification, medications, injections or time. Surgery is considered when the diagnosis, symptoms, imaging and goals support it.
Night pain may occur with rotator cuff problems, bursitis, arthritis, stiffness or inflammation. A focused exam and imaging review can help separate these causes.
Cortisone injections, ultrasound-guided injections and orthobiologics may be considered for selected patients depending on diagnosis, severity and goals.
Shoulder arthroscopy uses a camera and small incisions to evaluate and treat selected problems inside and around the shoulder, including some rotator cuff, labrum, biceps and bursitis conditions.
Shoulder replacement is usually considered when arthritis, fracture-related damage or selected cuff-related problems cause significant pain and functional limitation despite appropriate nonsurgical care.
Neck-related pain often travels past the shoulder, may include numbness or tingling, and can be affected by neck position. Shoulder pain is often worse with reaching, lifting, sleeping on that side, or overhead activity. Many patients need an exam to sort this out.
Rotator cuff problems often cause pain with lifting away from the body, reaching overhead, night pain, or weakness. Arthritis often causes deeper joint pain, grinding, stiffness, and loss of motion. X-rays and exam findings help separate these problems.
Surgery may be considered when there is significant weakness, traumatic tearing, persistent pain despite appropriate nonsurgical care, loss of function, or a tear pattern that is likely to worsen. Not every rotator cuff tear requires surgery.
An anatomic shoulder replacement relies on a functioning rotator cuff and replaces the ball and socket in a more native pattern. A reverse shoulder replacement changes the mechanics of the shoulder and may be used when the rotator cuff is not functioning well or the arthritis pattern requires it.
Night pain is common with rotator cuff disease, bursitis, arthritis, and inflammatory shoulder problems. Sleeping position, compression of irritated tissue, and stiffness can all make symptoms more noticeable.
Biceps tenodesis is a procedure that treats pain from the long head of the biceps tendon by moving its attachment to a more stable location. It is often considered when the biceps tendon is a major pain generator.
Distal clavicle excision removes a small portion of the end of the collarbone when the AC joint is a persistent source of pain. It may be considered for selected patients with AC joint arthritis or injury-related AC joint pain.
Schedule a focused shoulder evaluation with Dr. Barnes in Lake Havasu City.