Shoulder pain happens for various reasons. Some of those reasons aren’t a big deal. It might happen because you moved too quickly, but other times a medical professional is needed. The following are six signs that it’s time to see a doctor or chiropractor about your shoulder pain.
1. Intense Pain
One obvious sign that you can’t wait is if the pain is intense. Some pain is expected, but if it’s severe, this cannot wait. You shouldn’t feel like you’re going to pass out. You also shouldn’t feel like you need to be sedated to deal with the pain. You need to be checked out by a trustworthy medical professional as soon as possible.
2. Sudden Swelling
It’s important to pay attention to what the body is trying to tell you. If something is causing too much pain, you’ve got to pay attention, and if your shoulder is swelling too much, you have to take that as a sign. A little swelling might be okay. Maybe you bumped your shoulder, and that’s the result, but if the swelling is unusual, you need to see a medical professional. It’s not wise to ignore the injury at this point.
3. Mobility Issues
When the body swells up, it thinks you need more white blood cells and tries to protect the injured area. Swelling can cause some mobility issues. At this point, you should see a medical professional. You want your mobility back, right? You have to address the injury before the swelling can go down so that you can move like normal.
4. Deformity
If the injury is so severe that you see a deformity, then you need to have a doctor check out the injury. Your body shouldn’t change that much because you injured your shoulder. If the change is obvious, then something else might have happened. You need to find out and address it. After that, the deformity should go away given enough time. This type of injury could take some time to heal, so you have to be patient.
5. Tenderness and Warmth
While some tenderness is normal, especially after an injury, too much could be a sign of a bigger issue. If the tenderness is also accompanied by changes in temperature around the injury, you need to see a doctor to see what’s going on. You never know what is going on under the skin. This will likely not get better, so even if the tenderness is mild, be sure to have a doctor confirm that everything is okay.
6. Getting Worse
If the pain, swelling, redness, or tenderness is only getting worse, then you’ve got to see a doctor. Injuries get better sometimes; they may take a while to improve, but they always get better. Sometimes, it may seem like the injury has plateaued, and it doesn’t change for some time, but it certainly shouldn’t feel like it’s getting worse. If you’re experiencing this, then you’ve got to visit a doctor as soon as you can. You need to get to the bottom of what’s happening.
Now, you know what to do if you notice any of these signs. You need to contact a medical professional that you trust and find out where to go from there.
