Because your shoulder is one of the body’s most complex joints, it is important to seek care from an orthopedist who has special expertise in treating shoulder injuries. The orthopedic and sports medicine specialists at Blessing perform advanced surgical procedures to help you regain mobility in your injured shoulder while reducing pain.

Experience the Blessing Difference: Care for Shoulder Injuries

When you come to Blessing for treatment of a shoulder injury, you benefit from:

  • Exclusive treatments: We are one of the few centers in the area with the expertise to perform superior capsular reconstruction. This procedure to treat a severely torn rotator cuff is a less invasive alternative to shoulder replacement surgery.
  • Minimally invasive procedures: When possible, we use an all-arthroscopic repair method for shoulder repair surgery. This minimally invasive procedure is done inside the joint, which means smaller incisions and less cutting of tissue. As a result, you experience less pain, reduced risk of infection and a faster return to activities.
  • Advanced pain management: We offer the latest pain control methods. These treatments help you manage pain while reducing medication side effects.
  • Rehabilitation: Physical therapy is key to a successful recovery after treatment for a shoulder injury. Blessing has a range of orthopedic rehabilitation options to help you regain strength, stability and movement.
  • Care that focuses on you: At Blessing, we treat our patients like family. You see the same familiar, helpful faces at your appointments and throughout your course of treatment.

Shoulder Injuries We Treat

We are experts at treating a variety of shoulder injuries. The most common shoulder injuries we treat include:

  • Shoulder joint, or labral, tear: The labrum is a ring of soft tissue that surrounds the shoulder socket, or glenoid. The labrum keeps the ball of your upper arm bone in the socket. Common labral injuries include:
    • Superior labral anterior to posterior (SLAP) tear: The tear is at the top of the labrum and affects the front and back of the biceps tendon that connects the shoulder socket.
    • Bankart lesion: The tear is at the bottom of the shoulder socket.
  • Rotator cuff tear: A torn rotator cuff tendon no longer connects the top part of your upper arm bone to your shoulder blade. Types of rotator cuff tears include:
    • Partial (incomplete) tear: The damaged, fraying tendon is still connected to bone.
    • Full (complete) tear: The severed tendon is completely separated from the bone.

Signs of a Shoulder Injury

Some tears happen suddenly, like from a fall, and cause immediate intense pain. Most shoulder joint tears and rotator cuff injuries happen gradually. The more you use your shoulders and arms, the more pain and discomfort you may experience. Seeking prompt medical care may help you avoid surgery.

Signs that you have a serious shoulder injury include:

  • Shoulder pain that interferes with sleep
  • Pain when lifting and lowering your arm or performing overhead activities
  • Decreased range of arm movement
  • Shoulder or arm weakness
  • Instability in the shoulder
  • A crackling, grinding or locking sensation when moving your arm  
  • Shoulder pain that is not controlled by over-the-counter pain medications

Visit work and sports injuries to learn how we diagnose shoulder injuries.

Treating Shoulder Injuries

Your doctor may recommend surgery if you have a severe tear or if other treatments — such as physical therapy and steroid injections — do not alleviate pain and symptoms.

Shoulder repair surgery options at Blessing include:

  • All-arthroscopic repair: During this procedure, your doctor relies on images from a small camera called an arthroscope to guide surgery to repair torn or damaged areas. This minimally invasive procedure is done inside the joint, which means smaller incisions and minimal drilling through bone. As a result, you experience less pain, less risk of infection and a quicker return to activities.
  • Superior capsular reconstruction: Some rotator cuff tears are too severe for traditional repair. In the past, shoulder replacement surgery was the only alternative. The orthopedic team at Blessing offers a new technique that reconstructs the superior capsule, the upper part of the shoulder joint lining. During this minimally invasive arthroscopic procedure:
    • Your doctor sutures a patch of organ donor skin from the top of the upper arm bone (humerus) to the shoulder socket (glenoid).
    • The skin patch reduces pain and symptoms by keeping the ball of the upper arm bone in place in the shoulder socket.

After surgery, you undergo orthopedic rehabilitation to regain strength and mobility in the repaired shoulder.