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Fix Your Shoulder Pain
Shoulder pain
Also called Shoulder impingement, Rotator cuff pain, Shoulder bursitis
Who it's forA man aged 18 to 45 whose shoulder hurts when he presses or lifts overhead.
When to see a doctor
- Call 911 now: shoulder or arm pain with chest pain or tightness, breathlessness, sweating or feeling nauseous. It can be a heart attack.
- The ER today: after an injury, a shoulder that looks out of place, or an arm you cannot move or lift.
- Urgent care the same day: a hot, red, swollen shoulder, most of all with a fever or feeling unwell. It can be a joint infection.
- Urgent care or your doctor today: sudden or very bad pain, pins and needles that do not go away, no feeling in the arm, or pain in both shoulders.
- Urgent care or your doctor today: a lump, weight loss or pain at night with feeling unwell. Also several swollen joints, or morning stiffness in both shoulders and hips past 45 minutes.
- A doctor within days: a pop in the chest or armpit on a heavy bench, then bruising or a changed chest shape.
- Your doctor or a physical therapist: pain getting worse, or no better after 2 weeks of self-care, or a shoulder very hard to move.
- A shoulder surgeon: a tear from an injury, soon. A tear no better after 3 to 6 months of proper exercise, or a shoulder that keeps dislocating.
I am not a doctor. This is not medical advice. This is self-education. Every dose on this page is the one a trial or a label used, quoted from it. It is not a prescription. Talk to a physician who has your history before any medicine or procedure. Chest pain with shoulder pain: call 911. An arm you cannot lift after an injury: the ER.