- 1). Start by examining your entire upper body. Feel the neck for tenderness or poor spinal alignment. Inspect your posture in front of a mirror, in a standing and then resting position. Poor posture indicates myofascial pain and dysfunction of the anterior shoulder muscles.
- 2). Check for dislocation. If your shoulder was twisted or pulled, feel the upper arm to see whether the bone was pushed from the socket. If the dislocation happened again after you've rested and performed home exercises, consult a doctor about surgery.
- 3). Decide whether the ligaments extending from the collarbone to the shoulder blade separated. This happens after accidents or falls. Go for shoulder X-rays. If they show tears in the ligaments, expect to have surgery.
- 4). Differentiate between inflammation of the tendons and inflammation from arthritis or overuse of shoulder muscles. Tendinitis indicates red and swollen tendons in the shoulder. Bursitis indicates arthritis or overuse from sports. If your symptoms don't disappear after one year of treatment, or if X-rays show a tear in the tendons, plan to have surgery.
- 5). Look for signs of a frozen shoulder: restricted movement, chronic pain and worsening rheumatic illness. If your doctor repositioned bones and you took anti-inflammatory medicines and cortisone injections and there's still no improvement, opt for surgery as a last resort.
- 6). Consider the time of day when your shoulder pain appears. Pain at night indicates impingement. Seek chiropractic treatment or physical therapy.
- 7). Perform a drop-arm test by extending your arm and allowing it to drop toward the waist. If the arm cannot get past a 90-degree angle to touch the waist, this could mean your shoulder's rotator cuff has torn. Expect to have surgery.
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