Due to hurricane damage, the Havelock location is closed until further notice. Havelock therapists Hannah Zhang, Sarah Hall and Judy Hickes are available to see patients at the New Bern location. Please call the New Bern location at (252) 636-9800 to discuss your care.

Two injuries that can hurt the shoulder when raising the arm

Fell On Shoulder Hurts to Raise Arm

Falls are one of the most common ways people injure themselves. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 800,000 people are hospitalized every year for injuries they got during a fall. Falling on your shoulder in Jacksonville, North Carolina, can lead to injuries that make raising your arm hurt. Although several fall-related shoulder injuries can cause this pain, here are two that are especially common:. 

  1. Labrum tear

A shoulder labrum tear is a common shoulder injury that can both be caused by a fall and lead to pain when raising the arm. Labra are found in several of your joints, but the one in your shoulder is found around the rim of your shoulder socket. The shoulder labrum is made out of a type of tissue called cartilage. Its job is to help keep the ball of the upper arm bone seated in the shoulder socket. 

When you fall on your shoulder, the impact can cause the labrum to tear. On its own, this tear can be very painful, but the pain can often get worse when you raise your arm. One reason for this is part of the torn labrum could be catching on the arm bone as it moves. This can also lead to grinding or popping sounds coming from your shoulder when you move your arm. 

  1. Rotator cuff injury

An injury to the rotator cuff can occur when you fall on your shoulder, and rotator cuff injuries can lead to pain when lifting the arm. The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles and tendons in your shoulder. This structure is designed to keep the arm bone firmly seated in the shoulder socket, which is a job it shares with the labrum. Also, the rotator cuff is responsible for lifting your arm over your head. Falling on your shoulder could cause several types of rotator cuff injuries. 

One injury a fall can cause in your rotator cuff is a strain. This happens when the fall stretches the rotator cuff too far, and the overstretching can lead to pain when you raise your arm. Another rotator cuff injury that falls can cause is a tear. The tear can be partial or complete, but partial tears are much more common. Not only can a tear cause pain when you lift your arm, it can also make it harder to do so. This means that this injury can keep you from performing routine tasks like grabbing objects off a high shelf. 

Find help for your shoulder injuries at Peak Performance in Jacksonville, NC

The residents of Jacksonville can find effective care for a shoulder injury at Peak Performance. Our team offers free screenings, and these can help you discover what shoulder injury you’re dealing with. Using this information, we can then create a personalized therapy plan to treat your injury. Our plans can be more effective because they use multiple therapy techniques, and some of the techniques we can use to help your shoulder include: 

Contact us today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment to start treating your shoulder injury.