Are you suffering from shoulder pain? Are you tired of not being able to participate in sports because of an injury? Do you frequently have to limit the use of your arms because your shoulders constantly hurt? Well, if you answered yes to any of these questions you’re probably in need of a shoulder specialist. The services that these individuals provide can help you to alleviate pain and suffering in this part of your body.
What is a specialist who works with shoulders called within the medical field?
Medical professionals that diagnose and treat shoulder pain are referred to by many different titles. PT Progress is a physical therapy blog site that describes some of the most common types of shoulder specialists. They include orthopedic specialists, physical therapists, sports medicine physicians and orthopedic surgeons. Each of these different specialty areas of medicine are known by different names. However, all people who work in these different areas of medicine know how to treat shoulder injuries and/or conditions.
What exactly does each shoulder related specialist do?
The following point will be stated once again. All shoulder specialists know how to provide basic diagnoses and treatments to a person’s shoulders. However, they do have some knowledge and specialization which sets them apart from their peers.
Sports medicine physicians and physical therapists have a tendency to focus on shoulder pain when it is related to some type of injury. While they are able to treat people, who suffer from shoulder related conditions this is not their area of specialty. Orthopedic specialists have a more in-depth of shoulder related issues. They not only deal with injuries, they also deal with conditions that can cause shoulder pain.
Orthopedic specialists provide services that can help people with short and long-term problems that are located in this area of the body. An orthopedic surgeon is probably the most educated individual out of this group. They have to know more about the shoulder area, since they perform surgical procedures on this part of the body. UT Southwestern Medical Center tells us that an orthopedic surgeon will exhaust other possibilities and means before they decide to perform surgery on a person body.
What type of treatments are commonly used for shoulder injuries and conditions?
The most common types of shoulder injuries result from some type of muscle, cartilage, tendon and ligament issue. People who play contact sport can injure their shoulder during competition. Workers in physical laborious fields such as factories or docks tend to suffer from shoulder related injuries as well. Common treatments for shoulder injuries include hot and cold packs, physical therapy exercises, the use of cortisone to help ease inflammation, slings, resting the arm to prevent further use of the shoulder and medications to help ease the pain.
When orthopedic specialists treat a shoulder condition they might use antibiotics to fight infection, medications to alleviate pain, steroids to take down swelling and physical therapy. Once again, surgery is the last options that shoulder physicians will use for this type of condition. The main thing for people with shoulder injuries to remember is not use their shoulder until they heal to a certain point. All professionals that work with the shoulder area can provide needed shoulder relief for people suffering from this problem.