Shoulder Pain (தோள்பட்டை வலி)

The main shoulder joint – the glenohumeral – is a ball-and-socket joint. It’s called this because the top of the upper arm bone – the humerus – is shaped like a ball. This ball fits into the shoulder blade bone, which acts as the socket, giving your shoulder a wide range of movement.

But, the shoulder socket is very small, compared to other ball-and-socket joints, such as the hip. It’s held together and controlled by a covering of muscles, which are secured to the bones by strong cords called tendons.

These muscles and tendons form a capsule around the joint and support its movements, but can make it more likely to dislocate than other joints.

Inside the capsule is the synovium, which produces fluid that lubricates the joint and keeps the cartilage healthy. The cartilage helps protect your bones from any impact and sits between the bones of your shoulder joints to stop them rubbing together.

Above the main shoulder joint there’s a smaller joint where the top of the shoulder blade – the acromion – meets the collar bone.

This is known as the acromioclavicular joint. It helps the larger joint below to move through its full range, particularly when you’re raising your arm, lifting or throwing.

Most shoulder problems only affect a small area and should last a relatively short time.

But sometimes the problem in your shoulder could be part of a wider,long-term condition such as, osteoarthitis or polymyalgia rheumatica.

It's fairly common for people with rheumatoid arthritis to have pain and swelling in their shoulders.

Osteoarthritis is less likely to affect your shoulders than other joints, unless you've injured them in the past.

There are several other possible causes of shoulder pain, such as:

• Inflammation, where your shoulder becomes hot, red, swollen and painful as a natural reaction to an infection or injury.
• Damage to the muscles and tendons around the shoulder

What causes shoulder pain?

Most shoulder problems only affect a small area and should last a relatively short time.

But sometimes the problem in your shoulder could be part of a wider, long-term condition such as, osteoarthritis or polymyalgia rheumatica.

It’s fairly common for people with rheumatoid arthritis to have pain and swelling in their shoulders.

Osteoarthritis is less likely to affect your shoulders than other joints, unless you’ve injured them in the past.

There are several other possible causes of shoulder pain, such as:

• inflammation, where your shoulder becomes hot, red, swollen and painful as a natural reaction to an infection or injury
• damage to the muscles and tendons around the shoulder
• tension in the muscles between the neck and shoulder – this is usually down to your posture in your upper back or neck, and is often linked the way you stand or sit when you’re using a computer or at work
• inflammation in the bursa – a fluid-filled cushion which normally helps the muscles and tendons slide smoothly over the shoulder bones
• damage to the bones and cartilage, which can be caused by arthritis.