Burning Pain in the Shoulder
If you clicked on this article, you know that a burning sensation in the shoulder is painful and scary. The pain may be dull or intense, can come and go or stay constant, may worsen with movement, disrupt sleep or all of the above. Let’s take a look at a variety of burning shoulder pain causes, treatments (and how Dr. Levi can help!)
Causes of Burning Pain in the Shoulder
Despite the pain being located in your shoulder, many times your shoulder problem is caused by something else. Various health issues or injuries can manifest as shoulder pain.
Neck issues
A neck sprain (like what occurs in whiplash) happens when ligaments are torn or overstretched. This can cause pain to radiate down and cause a burning sensation in your shoulders over time. Arthritis in your neck can also cause this type of pain.
Nerve problems
Burning shoulder pain can be a sign of a nerve issue such as a pinched nerve, disc disease, brachial neuritis or spinal stenosis. People who play sports or are involved in a car accident can have a brachial plexus injury that creates shoulder pain.
The brachial plexus is the network of nerves that sends signals to the neck, shoulder, and arm. In all of these conditions, the nerves are irritated and can send burning pain sensations, tingling and numbness to the shoulder joints and shoulder blades.
Shoulder injuries
Of course sometimes when you’re experiencing burning pain, it’s directly caused by the shoulder itself. There are many injuries to the shoulder that create burning pain such as bursitis, tendonitis, rotator cuff injury, frozen shoulder or dislocated shoulder. These conditions cause inflammation which in turn can lead to a burning pain.
Other medical conditions
Less often totally unrelated illness and disease can cause burning shoulder pain. Serious medical conditions such as fibromyalgia, restless arm syndrome, gallbladder issues, shingles and even stroke, cancer or heart attack can flare up the shoulder blade area. Conversely, sometimes something as simple as sleeping awkwardly or having improper posture at your computer can cause this pain as well.
How to Treat Burning Pain in the Shoulder
For less serious conditions, home treatment is definitely an option. A few proven techniques are:
- Rest and immobilization
- OTC pain medication
- Ice
- Heat
- Stretching and exercise
If your symptoms last more than a few days however, it is time to seek help from a medical professional.
What Dr. Levi Can Do for Burning Pain in the Shoulder
Depending on the cause and severity of your shoulder condition, chiropractic care has been proven to be very effective without any side effects. And even if the cause is something out of the scope of chiropractic treatment, Dr. Levi is trained to spot a variety of conditions and can recommend your next best course of action.
For neck, nerve and shoulder conditions, Dr. Levi may use a variety of chiropractic techniques that help adjust and align the spine and nervous system. These may include spinal manipulation, massage, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, traction,cold laser therapy as well as prescribing exercise and stretching regimens.
Shoulder Pain Relief in Maryland
According to the NIH, shoulder pain affects 18-26% of adults at any point in time, making it one of the most common regional pain syndromes. Levi Chiropractic can help treat your burning pain in the shoulder and make sure it doesn’t come back. Call today for evaluation and treatment of your condition.