Shoulder Pain

Any kind of shoulder pain can severely restrict our arm movement and ability to perform routine daily tasks. In some cases, shoulder pain can also become debilitating, affecting our quality of life and quality of sleep. Symptoms of shoulder pain can include:

• General stiffness

• Numbness, tingling or pins and needles

• Sharp or deep pain

• Pain between the shoulder blades

• Pain radiating down the arm or into the head

At Interventus Pain Specialists, we focus on accurately diagnosing the source of your shoulder pain before developing a comprehensive treatment plan to restore function and relieve your discomfort.

Understanding the anatomy

The shoulder is often prone to pain or injury because:

• It is the most mobile of any joint in the body and is able to move in any direction
• The surface contact area of the shoulder joint is very small. This means the muscles surrounding the joint in the

shoulder have a critical job in stabilising this area.
Shoulder pain can often be referred from other areas in the body, especially the neck and back, making diagnosis a complex issue.

Correctly diagnosing the cause of your shoulder pain

Shoulder pain can be caused by a range of factors such as arthritis or osteoarthritis, a hardening of the tissue around the joint (frozen shoulder), joint inflammation (bursitis), overuse of the shoulder muscles (rotator cuff pain), tendonitis, myofascial pain, nerve pain, post-surgery pain, or referred pain from the neck or back.

Some risk factors that may increase the likelihood of developing shoulder pain include age, an inactive lifestyle, being overweight or engaging in activities that require repetitive movements of the spine or shoulder, such as heavy lifting, pulling or pushing.

To determine the specific cause of your pain, Interventus Pain Specialists use a combination of clinical examinations, investigations such as X-Rays, CT scans and MRIs, and treatments such as Prognostic Injections, Radiofrequency Neurotomy or Pulsed Radiofrequency Neuromodulation.

At Interventus, our Brisbane shoulder pain specialists focus on accurately diagnosing the cause of your pain, before determining which treatment approach is most likely to be successful.