When patients visit an orthopedic clinic because of shoulder pain and hear the diagnosis “rotator cuff tear,” most of them have the same concerns. “Does a tear always mean I need surgery?” “Are there any treatment options besides surgery?” The short answer is: not all rotator cuff tears require surgery. Depending on the size of…

Will Frequent Injections Weaken the Tendon? When patients visit an orthopedic clinic for shoulder pain, they are often advised to consider injection therapy. At that point, many people ask similar questions: “Can injections damage my tendon?” “I heard steroid shots can weaken the shoulder.” “Is it safe to get injections repeatedly?” These concerns are very…

When patients visit an orthopedic clinic for shoulder pain, they often hear something like this: “You have calcium deposits in your shoulder.”“This is called calcific tendinitis.” Naturally, the next questions are usually: “Do I need surgery?”“Will this pain last forever?”“Can medication or injections help instead?” These are some of the most common concerns we hear…

What Does That Mean? Do I Need Surgery? In daily clinical practice, many patients come in with shoulder pain and ask similar questions after reviewing their imaging results. “They said the bone looks overgrown on my X-ray.” “I was told the tendon is being compressed by bone—what does that mean?” “Does this mean I need…

“My shoulder hurts — what could be wrong?” In daily clinical practice, I see patients of all ages coming in with shoulder pain. “Is this frozen shoulder?”“Another clinic told me I have a rotator cuff tear. Do I really need surgery?”“Should I get an MRI?” Shoulder pain can have many different causes, andbased on symptoms…