Shoulder Popping: Causes and Treatment
Shoulder popping refers to the feeling or noise that sometimes accompanies a shoulder dislocation. This condition does need immediate medical intervention in most cases.
The shoulder is anatomically described as a ball and socket joint. This joint has the single greatest range of motions among all the body parts. The ball is referred to as the head of the humerus and the socket is the glenoid. There are four muscles involved in the movement at the shoulder joint and these are collectively called the rotator cuff. This rotator cuff is what enables the movement of the arm above the head of a person and facilitates the ability of the arm to be moved in a wide circle. When there is an injury or damage to the rotator cuff, there is significant impact on the range of motions of the shoulder and arm. The supraspinatus muscle in the rotator cuff is known to be particularly vulnerable to injury.
The shoulder is also kept in its position in the socket thanks to the muscles of the rotator cuff. The other things that enable the proper location of the shoulder are the ligaments and the O ring or laburnum around the socket. When any of these are not working properly because of an injury or other issues, there can be shoulder popping or dislocation. In cases of injury to the ligaments, muscles or laburnum shoulder popping will be accompanied by pain.
While pain is a constant in many shoulder related problems, the range and intensity of pain varies quite a bit. People with wear and tear in the rotator cuff complain about a dull and persistent ache that worsens when the hand or shoulder is moved. These patients also find that sleeping on the affected shoulder significantly worsens the pain. Those who are struggling with shoulder arthritis may also experience pain and doctors are likely to consider this possibility in patients who are over 50 years old.
There seems to be an association with current should popping or dislocation problems and a prior history of a major shoulder injury for many patients. There are many contact sports in which should injuries happen fairly frequently and while these are fixed they do sometimes leave the area less strong and susceptible to rough action or ill-advised movement. Shoulder instability is the name given to all problems where the bone slips in and out of the socket.
Shoulder popping sometimes happens even for those who have never had a sports injury. This may be caused by wear and tear in the cartilage or muscles of the shoulder joint. While the human body is built for repetitive use, there can be jobs or situations in which the ball and socket are over-used and this can lead to a shoulder dislocation or even chronic shoulder instability.
Whatever the cause, it is best to go to your doctor if you suspect shoulder popping. The medical professionals can assess the extent of the problem of damage and do the needful to push it back in place. It is likely that the doctor will advise you to put your arm in a sling to limit movement for the near future.
Very often in emergency departments, the early intervention involves pain medication because that is the primary concern for doctors and patients. After handling the pain, the doctor will be able to suggest long-term treatments or responses to the problem.
In cases of chronic or repeated shoulder popping, some patients do learn how to ease the shoulder back in place and this helps them get on with their daily lives a little sooner. If you are planning to do this, pay careful attention to how a professional does and do not be impatient and force any movement that does not feel natural.
Shoulder popping is often spoken of as a minor dislocation and while this is not entirely accurate, in general it is not a major crisis either.