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Shoulder Pain When Lifting Your Arm: What Could It Be?
Updated: Oct 14
Quick answer: When chronic shoulder symptoms are related to tendinopathy, partial tendon injury, or degenerative joint disease, PRP may be considered as one part of a nonsurgical treatment strategy.
Raising the arm requires coordinated motion between the rotator cuff, shoulder blade, biceps, joint capsule and surrounding muscles. Pain with this movement can come from several different problems, so the exact location and pattern matter.
Rotator cuff and bursitis
Rotator cuff tendinopathy or tearing commonly causes pain when reaching overhead or away from the body. Subacromial bursitis can create a similar painful arc. Weakness may suggest a more significant cuff problem, although pain itself can also inhibit strength.
Frozen shoulder and arthritis
Frozen shoulder causes progressive stiffness as well as pain. Arthritis may cause deeper joint pain, grinding and loss of motion. Biceps tendon problems often create pain in the front of the shoulder.
Evaluation
A sports medicine exam, X-ray and ultrasound can identify many common causes. MRI is useful when a large tear, labral injury or surgical problem is suspected. Treatment depends on the diagnosis.
When to seek care
Persistent pain, progressive weakness, recurrent swelling, locking, inability to bear weight after an injury, or symptoms that limit sleep and daily activity deserve medical evaluation. Treatment is most effective when it is based on a clear diagnosis rather than simply the location of pain.
Related care: shoulder pain treatment
Carolina Nonsurgical Orthopedics provides physician-led evaluation and nonsurgical treatment for musculoskeletal conditions in Raleigh and Cary, North Carolina. This article is for general education and is not a substitute for an individual medical evaluation.
Related orthopedic resources
A Closer Look at Shoulder Pain When Lifting Your Arm
Shoulder pain may arise from the rotator cuff, biceps tendon, labrum, bursa, AC joint, or glenohumeral joint. Pain with overhead activity, reaching behind the back, lifting, or sleeping on the affected side can help narrow the diagnosis, and diagnostic ultrasound can provide useful real-time information about many shoulder structures.
Nonsurgical Treatment and PRP for shoulder in Raleigh & Cary
When chronic shoulder symptoms are related to tendinopathy, partial tendon injury, or degenerative joint disease, PRP may be considered as one part of a nonsurgical treatment strategy. The specific structure being treated matters, so image-guided placement is preferable to treating every shoulder problem with the same injection.
At Carolina Nonsurgical Orthopedics, the goal when evaluating shoulder pain is to match treatment to the specific diagnosis rather than simply treating the location of pain. Patients in Raleigh and Cary may have options that include targeted rehabilitation, activity modification, shockwave therapy, image-guided injections, PRP, or other regenerative approaches depending on the condition and its severity.
About Your Physicians
Dr. Matthew Kanaan
Nonsurgical Orthopedic Specialist
Founder of Carolina Nonsurgical Orthopedics. Fellowship trained in sports medicine at Duke; residency in family medicine at Duke, where he served as Chief Resident.
Dr. Pierce Knox
Nonsurgical Orthopedic Specialist
Fellowship trained in nonsurgical sports medicine at Penn Medicine; residency in primary care at Christiana Care.
