How We Determine the Cause of Your Chronic Shoulder Pain
Chronic shoulder pain can come from arthritis, rotator cuff problems, bursitis, tendon irritation, prior injury, joint inflammation, nerve irritation, or referred pain from the neck. Pain may limit reaching, lifting, sleeping on the affected side, or daily activities that require overhead movement. At Medway Pain Center, evaluation begins with a careful history, physical examination, review of imaging when available, and attention to which movements reproduce your pain.
The goal is to determine whether the shoulder joint, surrounding tendons or muscles, cervical spine, or a combination of pain sources is contributing to your symptoms.
Choosing the Right Treatment for Your Chronic Shoulder Pain
Treatment depends on whether pain is coming primarily from the shoulder joint, surrounding tendons or muscles, nerve irritation, the cervical spine, or more than one source. Some patients improve with conservative care, while others may benefit from targeted image-guided procedures.
- Joint injections may help diagnose or reduce inflammation when the shoulder joint is the suspected pain source.
- Nerve blocks may be considered when a specific nerve pathway is suspected to contribute to shoulder pain.
- Trigger point injections may be used when tight or painful muscles around the shoulder, neck, or upper back contribute to symptoms.
- Radiofrequency ablation may be considered in selected cases after diagnostic testing supports the target.
Why One Procedure May Be Better Than Another
Different procedures address different pain sources. Joint injections target inflammation inside or around the shoulder joint, while nerve blocks may help clarify whether a nerve pathway is contributing. Trigger point injections focus on painful muscle contributors, and radiofrequency ablation is considered only after diagnostic testing supports the target.
Choosing carefully helps avoid unnecessary procedures and improves the chance that treatment matches your actual diagnosis.
Your Treatment Journey at Medway Pain Center
Your care usually begins with an evaluation, diagnosis, and review of prior treatments or imaging. From there, Dr. Tochi Umunakwe and the Medway Pain Center team explain your options, discuss conservative and interventional choices, and build a plan based on your symptoms, exam findings, and goals.
The focus is to reduce pain, improve function, and help you return to daily activities with a plan that makes clinical sense for your condition.
