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Shoulder Pain

Daniel Nelson, MD

Interventional Pain Medicine & Regenerative Medicine located in Greater Seattle area, Kirkland, WA

When you have a shoulder problem, it can make every movement of your hand and arm difficult and painful. If you’re looking for an effective solution to shoulder pain, Dr. Daniel Nelson can help. At his practice in Kirkland, in the Greater Seattle area of Washington, Daniel Nelson, MD, and Sarah Goble, PA-C, provide comprehensive treatments for shoulder pain, including state-of-the-art regenerative medicine therapies. Call today to find out more or book an appointment online.

Shoulder Pain Q & A

What causes shoulder pain?

The extended range of movement your shoulders are capable of makes them vulnerable to injury and wear-and-tear.

Tears in the tendons or other soft tissues are a frequent cause of shoulder pain. The bursae that help cushion the joint could develop a painful swelling, called bursitis, or you could have small outgrowths of bone in the joint, called bone spurs.

Shoulder pain can also be due to the effects of arthritis, particularly the degenerative type, osteoarthritis. This type of arthritis develops over the years as the cartilage protecting the ends of the bones in your joints slowly erodes. The exposed bones then rub painfully together.

Shoulder Conditions Dr. Nelson Treats:

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What’s the treatment for shoulder pain?

If you have mild shoulder pain, you can take steps to ease the discomfort and help the tissues to heal by resting the shoulder, applying an ice pack to reduce swelling, and taking over-the-counter pain medication.

If your shoulder pain is more severe, or mild pain doesn’t get better after resting the joint, you should see Dr. Nelson to find out what’s causing the pain. He examines your shoulder and runs some tests and then creates a suitable treatment program for you.

The initial treatment for your shoulder pain is likely to consist of physical therapy. Physical therapy and treatments like chiropractic can be beneficial for most causes of shoulder pain.

If you aren’t improving after a course of physical therapy, Dr. Nelson has the tools to help your pain such as:

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Trigger point injections

Trigger points are knots of tender muscle or fascia (the connective tissue surrounding your muscles and organs). Dr. Nelson locates each trigger point and injects it with an anesthetic mixture that eases pain and helps relax the tissues.

Steroid injections

Steroid injections into your shoulder can reduce inflammation and pain. Dr. Nelson uses moving X-ray technology called fluoroscopy to deliver the injection into precisely the right part of your shoulder. The injections contain an anesthetic as well as the steroid, so you get short-term relief straight away.

Dr. Nelson also uses regenerative medicine therapies to treat shoulder pain.

What are regenerative medicine therapies for shoulder pain?

There are two main types of regenerative medicine therapies Dr. Nelson uses for shoulder pain:

Stem cell therapy

Stem cells come from your body. Dr. Nelson extracts some of your bone marrow or fat, which are the richest sources of stem cells. He then injects the stem cells back into your shoulder in concentrated form. The stem cells trigger the growth of new, stronger tissues to replace the damaged ones.

PRP (platelet-rich plasma) therapy

PRP works in the same way as stem cell therapy, but uses growth factors taken from a sample of your blood.

If you have shoulder pain, find the most effective treatment by calling Dr. Daniel Nelson today or book an appointment online.