Shoulder pain can be extremely severe, sometimes to the point where you can’t move your arm at all. In this blog, I’ll explain the three most common shoulder conditions responsible for this kind of limitation.
Calcific Shoulder Tendinitis
One of the most frequent causes of severe shoulder pain—especially pain that wakes you up at night—is calcific shoulder tendinitis. This condition occurs when calcium deposits form on the rotator cuff tendons. These deposits irritate surrounding tissues and reduce the subacromial space (the gap between the tendons and the acromion bone), leading to inflammation and painful impingement.
Traditional treatment usually involves anti-inflammatory medications and physical therapy over several months. If that fails, arthroscopic surgery is often recommended to remove the calcium and decompress the joint.
However, in my experience, this approach takes too long. In our practice, we offer a faster and highly effective alternative:
Using ultrasound guidance, we inject a corticosteroid directly in and around the calcium deposits. This rapidly reduces inflammation, and the calcium gradually dissolves over days or weeks. Most importantly, pain relief is often quick, and mobility returns much sooner.
Adhesive Capsulitis (Frozen Shoulder)
Adhesive capsulitis, or “frozen shoulder,” is a condition where the joint capsule and ligaments become stiff and inflamed. Patients lose both active and passive range of motion — it can quite literally feel like your shoulder is locked in place.
Conventional treatment includes pain relievers and months of physical therapy. Recovery often takes 6–12 months, and sometimes even surgery.
At our clinic, we use a faster, minimally invasive technique:
We inject a local anesthetic around the shoulder nerves under ultrasound guidance, then carefully mobilize the shoulder to release the stiffness. Most patients regain motion within a few weeks, with just a month of rehab, rather than a full year.
Rotator Cuff Tear
Rotator cuff tears are common, especially due to chronic impingement. These tears may be partial or full-thickness.
For complete tears, surgery is usually recommended. I perform arthroscopic shoulder repair, a minimally invasive technique where the torn tendon is reattached to the bone.
For partial tears, we often avoid surgery. Instead, we use ultrasound-guided injections combined with a personalized physical therapy program, which typically leads to excellent recovery.
Final Thoughts
If you’re experiencing shoulder pain or struggling to lift your arm, these three conditions could be the cause. Fortunately, today’s techniques allow us to treat many of these cases faster and more effectively.
Don’t ignore persistent shoulder pain — early diagnosis and targeted treatment can make all the difference.