Whether you’re mowing the lawn, tossing a ball, or cleaning your home, you rely heavily on the shoulder when engaging in many activities. Due to the wide range of motion of the shoulder, it’s the most mobile joint in your body.
Ligaments are a type of tissue that hold one bone to another bone, limiting the amount of motion the joint has. To allow for motion, your shoulder ligaments have to be loose, but this creates inherent instability. This lack of stability makes it easy to injure your shoulders.
Anterior Ligament Sprain/Dislocation
This type of injury may occur when you raise an arm overhead or to the side while applying force, such as when you’re grabbing a heavy object located overhead. If that load is too great, it can tear your ligaments, and if your ligaments are severely torn, your shoulder may become dislocated.
With time, your ligaments will heal, but they don’t heal as tightly as they were originally. If they don’t stay tight enough and your shoulder continues to dislocate, you may require surgical intervention.
Shoulder Separation
Shoulder separation is a common injury that may occur when the ligaments between your shoulder blade and collarbone are torn. They’re often caused by falls on the shoulder, falling with a hand out, sports injuries, or even car accidents.
The tearing of these ligaments loosens the joint connection between your shoulder blade and collar bone, allowing them to move apart from one another. Usually, this injury is characterized by pain that occurs on the top of the shoulder and a bump atop the shoulder due to the top end of the collarbone protruding.
Frozen Shoulder
Also known as adhesive capsulitis, a frozen shoulder may be caused by injury, but you don’t have to sustain an injury to develop this condition. It involves inflammation of your shoulder joint capsule, which contains your shoulder ligaments. When this area becomes inflamed, it causes pain and you can lose mobility in the shoulder.
Reduced mobility, such as after surgery, heart disease, hyper or hypothyroid issues, and diabetes are all risk factors for frozen shoulder. In most cases, treatment for this condition is non-surgical. Physical therapy may be ordered to help you learn gentle mobility exercises, then followed by more aggressive types of stretching that help reduce inflammation and bring mobility back to the joint.
Treatments for Torn Ligament in Shoulder
Depending on the extent of the shoulder injury, treatments for a torn ligament in the shoulder may vary, including both nonsurgical and surgical options.
Nonsurgical Treatments
- Exercise and Rehab with a PT – In some cases, exercise and rehab with a physical therapist may help an individual regain the mobility they lost after a torn ligament. Gentle mobility exercises, as well as stretching, may help.
- Improving Posture and Biomechanics – Some types of shoulder injuries may be improved by improving posture and biomechanics.
- Corticosteroid Injections – Steroid injections directly into the joint capsule may help reduce inflammation, specifically for conditions like frozen shoulder, and these injections may be used in conjunction with physical therapy.
Surgical Treatments
While torn ligaments may heal, sometimes pain or difficulty moving the shoulder may continue. In these cases, surgical treatment may be needed. Today, many common shoulder injuries can be repaired with minimally invasive surgeries performed by arthroscopy. This involves making only a couple of small incisions and inserting surgical tools and a camera to inspect, diagnose, and then repair any tears or damaged tissue. Most of these procedures can be done as outpatient procedures, giving you a more comfortable recovery and faster healing times.
Surgical Center for Shoulder Injuries
If you have a torn ligament in your shoulder that requires surgery, you want to ensure you work with the most experienced surgeons. When choosing a surgeon, you’ll want to check the surgeon’s credentials, consider their experience, and read patient reviews.
At Prime Surgical Suites, we offer skilled, experienced surgeons and state-of-the-art facilities for patients who require shoulder surgery and other types of orthopedic care. Focusing on excellence and compassion, we’re here to help you restore your well-being and active lifestyle.
At Prime Surgical Suites, we provide state-of-the-art, cost-effective musculoskeletal surgical care in a convenient and comfortable outpatient setting for patients of all ages. Located in RiverCrest Medical Park, we are the region's first outpatient center focused exclusively on orthopedics. Our physician-led center will help restore your active lifestyle and well-being with compassion and orthopedic excellence.