Shoulder joint, being one of the most mobile joints of the body, facilitates mobility of the upper extremity. It is one of the largest joints and is a complex one consisting of tendons, ligaments, cartilage and bones. As the shoulder joint is one of the most functional joints, it is much more prone to injuries while playing sports or performing an activity.
What are the most common causes of discomfort in the shoulder joint?
The most common causes of discomfort in the shoulder joints are:
- Bursitis or inflammation of the bursa, a pad like cavity present in the connective tissue
- Tendinitis or tendonitis or inflammation of the tendon is the most common cause of shoulder pain
- Osteoarthritis or degenerative osteoarthritis, an inflammation of the joints marked by progressive deterioration of the cartilage
- Injury while playing a sport
- Accidents
- Rotator cuff tendon tear, which is mostly seen in older adults
What are the symptoms of shoulder injury?
The pain associated with shoulder injury is usually mild to severe. The severity, of the pain mainly depends on the nature of injury. The symptoms exhibited by the patient in shoulder injury are:
- Pain
- Weakness
- Restricted movement of the joint
- In some cases, numbness or loss of sensation is also reported
Who is most likely to be affected by shoulder injury?
People who are at higher risk of developing shoulder injury are:
- Mostly seen in people who overuse their shoulder joints. Like active people who often take part in sports, that requires repetitive use of arms and shoulders. For example, people who are into swimming, tennis, and baseball are at higher risk of developing shoulder injury.
- In persons who lift heavy weight overhead
- Construction labours
- Certain people with anatomical anomaly of hooked or curved acromion
- People with shoulder instability. In these cases, the shoulder tendons, muscles and cartilage are not secured. This makes the shoulder joint highly susceptible for complete or partial dislocation.
- History of previous shoulder injury
- People who have a poor posture
- Older adults are at higher risk. However, shoulder injury is seen in people of any age group also.
What are the common types of shoulder injury?
Shoulder injury is a very painful experience. It not only restricts movement, but also limits our ability to do our daily chores. The common types of shoulder injury are:
- Sports injury:Â Sports injury involve injury caused by repetitive overhead movement of the shoulder. Playing contact sport also cause injury. In most of the shoulder injuries caused while playing sport the tendon rubs or scrapes against a part of the shoulder-blade.
The most common types of shoulder sports injuries are:
- SLAP tear:Â In this type of shoulder injury the cartilage tends to tear off around the shoulder socket. The repeated overhead movement of the shoulder joint causes tearing of the cartilage. SLAP tear is mostly seen in those who play tennis, baseball, volleyball or in those who swim.
The people who have SLAP tear sometimes notice clicking, grinding, locking or popping in the shoulders.
- Shoulder instability:Â Shoulder instability is common in athletes who play contact sports like football or hockey. The shoulders become unstable when the ligaments, muscle and tendon fail to secure the shoulder joint. Thus causing the upper part to dislocate completely or partly.
- Rotator cuff injury:Â It is commonly seen in athletes who use a lot of overhead movement of the shoulder joint. Swimmers, tennis players are mostly affected with this type of sports injury. Just like SLAP tear the people having rotator cuff injury also experience achy shoulder pains.
- Accidents: Soon after accidents or shortly after an accident many people complain of shoulder pain. Irrespective of the nature of the accident which could involve car or bike, or even a fall it can cause traumatic effects on the shoulder. People often suffer with rotator cuff tear in accidents sometimes along with fracture and/or dislocated shoulder.
- Everyday activity:Â Overuse of shoulder joints in jobs like hanging curtains, gardening, washing walls can also cause trauma to the shoulder joint, thus injuring them. It is very important to take care of the shoulders while performing daily chores. Overuse of shoulder joints should be avoided.
How Regenerative Therapy can help with the treatment of shoulder injury?
Regenerative Therapy is very efficient to treat injuries of the:
- Tendons,
- Cartilage,
- Muscles and
- Ligaments.
The Regenerative Therapy is a new approach which heals the injury in a minimally invasive way. The Regenerative Treatment not only recovers the injury faster than the conventional treatment, but also assures that no rehabilitation is required for the joints to function properly. Regenerative Treatment is a same day procedure with no risk of rejection.
The Regenerative Treatment options are:
- Prolotherapy. It is a natural Regenerative Treatment in which a natural substance is injected in the soft tissues at the injured joint.
- PRP or Platelet Rich Plasma. Platelet rich plasma therapy has been found to significantly enhance the healing process and strengthen the weakened tissue.
- Stromal vascular fraction therapy (SVF) and Mesenchymal cell therapy (MC). SVF and MC Therapy uses the patient’s own stem cell to help and repair damaged tissues and repair injuries. These treatments are beneficial in treating inflammation of the joint or managing symptoms of osteoarthritis.
In certain cases, it may be a combination of more than one treatment protocol. For some patients however, the complete protocol is a series of injections in several treatment sessions. The choice of treatment is at the discretion of the Consultant and is based on your unique case.
What are the benefits of Regenerative Treatment?
With so many options out there, you may be wondering what benefits choosing non-surgical Regenerative Treatments provides. Over all Regenerative Treatments are non-surgical same day procedures with no risk of rejection, minimal recovery time and minimal worry. You are fully awake and ready to go home within a few hours after injections in the affected area.
Other benefits of Regenerative Treatment to consider are:
- Minimal invasive procedure.
- Less time-consuming, it is a one-day procedure.
- Mobility of joints regained within a few weeks of treatment.
- No post-operative scars or lesions.
- Rehabilitation is not required after the procedure for the joints to work normally.
What to expect after the Regenerative Treatment for Shoulder injury?
The Regenerative Therapy is an orthobiological treatment and needs some time for the cells to repair the damaged or injured cells in the affected areas. The outcome of the injection is not instantaneous. It requires around thirty days for the patient to see early signs of improvement in the form of reduced pain or increase in function of the affected joint.
On the first day after treatment for shoulder injury, many patients feel mild discomfort which in most of the cases is not restrictive. However, mild pain at the site of treatment may persist for a day or two. Generally, mild discomfort is eased by rest and if needed simple pain-killers may be prescribed.
Regenerative Treatment have a strong anti-inflammatory effect due to the release of Cytokines and growth factor. The anti-inflammatory effect usually lasts for around 2-3 months thus reducing inflammation of the affected area. A gradual improvement is seen as the cell begin to heal the affected areas.
Usually, injuries and certain conditions do not need a repeat treatment. It is always best to wait for 3-6 months before considering a repeat treatment. Typically, repeat treatment is considered in cases where no improvement has been seen and some improvement is still possible.
Patients are reviewed up to six months following treatment for shoulder injury. The reviews gives the patient the opportunity to explain their progress which is then compared to their medical records before the Regenerative Treatment started. The review can either be in the clinic or through a video call, which totally depends on the discretion of the doctor and the ease of the patient.
However, the outcome of the treatment varies for every patient, which mainly depends on factors like age, type and severity of the condition etc.