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5 Shoulder Symptoms Not To Ignore
You like to work out and stay active, but sometimes shoulder pain gets in the way. How do you know when it’s time to see a doctor? Today we’re talking with Dr. Kevin Kaplan, an orthopedic surgeon with Baptist Health & the Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute and team physician for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. So let’s get to it – here are 5 shoulder symptoms you should NOT ignore.
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Learn more about Kevin Kaplan, MD, FAAOS
Kevin Kaplan, MD, FAAOS
Dr. Kaplan is the Head Team Physician for the NFL Jacksonville Jaguars and has been a physician with the team for 12 years. He is also the head team physician for the Bolles School where he graduated from in 1995.Learn more about Kevin Kaplan, MD, FAAOS
Transcription:
Caitlin Whyte (Host): You like to work out and stay active, but sometimes shoulder pain gets in the way. How do you know when it's time to see a doctor? Well, today we're talking with Dr. Kevin Kaplan, an Orthopedic Surgeon with Baptist Health and the Jacksonville Orthopedic Institute. He's also the team physician for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. So, let's get to it. Here are five shoulder symptoms you should not ignore.
This is Baptist Health Radio. As the most preferred healthcare provider in Northeast Florida, we are here to help you stay informed with the latest news, views and resources for your health and wellbeing. So, doctor starting off with symptom number one, clicking or popping in the shoulder joint.
Kevin Kaplan, MD, FAAOS (Guest): So, when you have clicking and popping in the shoulder joint, we were worried about several different diagnoses. You can, I have a rotator cuff issue or a rotator cuff tear, or the tendon is detached from the bone, and that can get caught between the humeral head or the ball of the ball and socket joint. And you can also have injuries to the cartilage inside the shoulder joint, which is called the labrum or the cartilage on the end of the ball and the end of the socket, which is called articular cartilage. Any of those can cause the symptoms of popping and clicking. And obviously, if it's painful and is a mechanical symptom, that's something that we would want to address.
Host: Onto symptom. Number two, persistent shoulder pain that intensifies with use.
Dr. Kaplan: So, when you have an injury to the shoulder, like a rotator cuff tear or a bicep tendon issue, or a cartilage injury in the shoulder, as the symptoms get worse, that can signify that you're doing more damage to your shoulder. Obviously, conservative treatments like physical therapy and corticosteroid injections, and anti-inflammatory medications can certainly benefit if the symptoms resolve. But if you're having worsening symptoms, if you're having pain at night or pain doing those normal activities of daily living, that could really signify a much worse injury, and it is something that we would want you to come in for us to get an MRI and a physical examination to determine whether or not we need to take you for surgery or can continue with conservative treatments.
Host: Number three, here is shoulder pain that keeps you from sleeping or wakes you up.
Dr. Kaplan: So, there are a lot of different injuries that can cause a lack of sleep. That includes tendon injuries like we discussed previously. That could also signify that you're having something called a frozen shoulder where the ligaments around the shoulder are actually causing your shoulder to be too tight. So, when you roll over or in your sleep, when you accidentally raise your arm and you may not know it, that can cause a significant pain in the joint. Now, frozen shoulder is something that can be treated with conservative physical therapy, in addition to anti-inflammatories and injections as well.
But the other diagnoses like the rotator cuff problems or the cartilage problems in the shoulder can also cause a lack of sleep. So, when a patient comes in or calls and says that they're unable to sleep. It's something that we'd be able to diagnose via either physical exam or getting further a radiographic evaluation. So like x-rays and MRIs.
Host: And symptom number four is stiffness and or the inability to raise your arm above your head.
Dr. Kaplan: In terms of rotator cuff tears, the bigger the tear will then cause further disability in a patient's ability to use their arm. So, small tears, patients are still able to lift, are still able to use their arms over their head. But as those tears increase in size, makes it more difficult to do those normal things like reach in a cabinet above your head or working out, trying to do things like overhead pressing. So, as the symptoms worsen, we become concerned that the tear is increasing in size and obviously the bigger the tear, then it takes a lot longer in terms of recovery. Or, you know, we worry that it will become so retracted that it's unable to be repaired. So, as you get symptoms in your shoulder, if those symptoms start to worsen, that would be something that we would want you to come in and get checked out for.
Host: And our last symptom, number five is numbness, tingling, or burning sensations.
Dr. Kaplan: A lot of time, patients will come in saying they have pain in their shoulder, but will describe those symptoms of burning, radiating pain. And honestly, there's a lot of crossover between symptoms that patients have in their shoulder and symptoms that they may have in their neck. So, as physicians, we really need to sometimes expand what we're looking at. And the pain that you're experiencing in the shoulder could actually be coming from somewhere else, like higher up in the neck. Pinched nerves in the cervical spine can cause very similar symptoms to what patients think are coming from the shoulder. So, if you're experiencing those pains, you can come in and, and we can look at your shoulder, but we may also examine other parts of your body and the burning tingling, numbness, pain that radiates down their arm may indicate that a nerve is being pinched at a higher level.
Host: Great. Well, Doctor, as we wrap up here, is there anything else you'd like people to know about shoulder injuries and when to head into the doctor's office to get it looked at?
Dr. Kaplan: I think that shoulder pain and shoulder injuries are very common as we do our normal activities, as we exercise regularly and certainly to expect some pain doing normal activities and, and working out and pushing our bodies is normal. But if that pain persists, if it lasts several days or even weeks, and it doesn't get better with simple remedies, like anti-inflammatory medications; it's always a good idea just to have an orthopedic surgeon or a physician, take a look at the shoulder to see if it's something that needs further workup so that you avoid doing further damage or damage that becomes irreparable.
Caitlin Whyte (Host): Now, if you're experiencing any of these symptoms, visit joionline.net, or call 904-JOI-2000 to book an appointment. That's 904-JOI-2000. We'd like to thank Dr. Kevin Kaplan for his time. And thank you for listening. This has been Baptist Health Radio. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Stay well.
Caitlin Whyte (Host): You like to work out and stay active, but sometimes shoulder pain gets in the way. How do you know when it's time to see a doctor? Well, today we're talking with Dr. Kevin Kaplan, an Orthopedic Surgeon with Baptist Health and the Jacksonville Orthopedic Institute. He's also the team physician for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. So, let's get to it. Here are five shoulder symptoms you should not ignore.
This is Baptist Health Radio. As the most preferred healthcare provider in Northeast Florida, we are here to help you stay informed with the latest news, views and resources for your health and wellbeing. So, doctor starting off with symptom number one, clicking or popping in the shoulder joint.
Kevin Kaplan, MD, FAAOS (Guest): So, when you have clicking and popping in the shoulder joint, we were worried about several different diagnoses. You can, I have a rotator cuff issue or a rotator cuff tear, or the tendon is detached from the bone, and that can get caught between the humeral head or the ball of the ball and socket joint. And you can also have injuries to the cartilage inside the shoulder joint, which is called the labrum or the cartilage on the end of the ball and the end of the socket, which is called articular cartilage. Any of those can cause the symptoms of popping and clicking. And obviously, if it's painful and is a mechanical symptom, that's something that we would want to address.
Host: Onto symptom. Number two, persistent shoulder pain that intensifies with use.
Dr. Kaplan: So, when you have an injury to the shoulder, like a rotator cuff tear or a bicep tendon issue, or a cartilage injury in the shoulder, as the symptoms get worse, that can signify that you're doing more damage to your shoulder. Obviously, conservative treatments like physical therapy and corticosteroid injections, and anti-inflammatory medications can certainly benefit if the symptoms resolve. But if you're having worsening symptoms, if you're having pain at night or pain doing those normal activities of daily living, that could really signify a much worse injury, and it is something that we would want you to come in for us to get an MRI and a physical examination to determine whether or not we need to take you for surgery or can continue with conservative treatments.
Host: Number three, here is shoulder pain that keeps you from sleeping or wakes you up.
Dr. Kaplan: So, there are a lot of different injuries that can cause a lack of sleep. That includes tendon injuries like we discussed previously. That could also signify that you're having something called a frozen shoulder where the ligaments around the shoulder are actually causing your shoulder to be too tight. So, when you roll over or in your sleep, when you accidentally raise your arm and you may not know it, that can cause a significant pain in the joint. Now, frozen shoulder is something that can be treated with conservative physical therapy, in addition to anti-inflammatories and injections as well.
But the other diagnoses like the rotator cuff problems or the cartilage problems in the shoulder can also cause a lack of sleep. So, when a patient comes in or calls and says that they're unable to sleep. It's something that we'd be able to diagnose via either physical exam or getting further a radiographic evaluation. So like x-rays and MRIs.
Host: And symptom number four is stiffness and or the inability to raise your arm above your head.
Dr. Kaplan: In terms of rotator cuff tears, the bigger the tear will then cause further disability in a patient's ability to use their arm. So, small tears, patients are still able to lift, are still able to use their arms over their head. But as those tears increase in size, makes it more difficult to do those normal things like reach in a cabinet above your head or working out, trying to do things like overhead pressing. So, as the symptoms worsen, we become concerned that the tear is increasing in size and obviously the bigger the tear, then it takes a lot longer in terms of recovery. Or, you know, we worry that it will become so retracted that it's unable to be repaired. So, as you get symptoms in your shoulder, if those symptoms start to worsen, that would be something that we would want you to come in and get checked out for.
Host: And our last symptom, number five is numbness, tingling, or burning sensations.
Dr. Kaplan: A lot of time, patients will come in saying they have pain in their shoulder, but will describe those symptoms of burning, radiating pain. And honestly, there's a lot of crossover between symptoms that patients have in their shoulder and symptoms that they may have in their neck. So, as physicians, we really need to sometimes expand what we're looking at. And the pain that you're experiencing in the shoulder could actually be coming from somewhere else, like higher up in the neck. Pinched nerves in the cervical spine can cause very similar symptoms to what patients think are coming from the shoulder. So, if you're experiencing those pains, you can come in and, and we can look at your shoulder, but we may also examine other parts of your body and the burning tingling, numbness, pain that radiates down their arm may indicate that a nerve is being pinched at a higher level.
Host: Great. Well, Doctor, as we wrap up here, is there anything else you'd like people to know about shoulder injuries and when to head into the doctor's office to get it looked at?
Dr. Kaplan: I think that shoulder pain and shoulder injuries are very common as we do our normal activities, as we exercise regularly and certainly to expect some pain doing normal activities and, and working out and pushing our bodies is normal. But if that pain persists, if it lasts several days or even weeks, and it doesn't get better with simple remedies, like anti-inflammatory medications; it's always a good idea just to have an orthopedic surgeon or a physician, take a look at the shoulder to see if it's something that needs further workup so that you avoid doing further damage or damage that becomes irreparable.
Caitlin Whyte (Host): Now, if you're experiencing any of these symptoms, visit joionline.net, or call 904-JOI-2000 to book an appointment. That's 904-JOI-2000. We'd like to thank Dr. Kevin Kaplan for his time. And thank you for listening. This has been Baptist Health Radio. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Stay well.