One source of persistent shoulder pain is Calcific tendinitis, when tendons in the shoulder, or the rotator cuff, become inflamed. Usually it shows as soreness in the shoulders and periodically as pain that happens when you raise your arm over shoulder height.
While no solid cause for calcific tendinitis has been pinned down, blood levels of calcium indicate that it’s not excess calcium in the diet. If you’ve been diagnosed with the condition, don’t cut back on your calcium intake; it will just cause your body to scavenge the calcium from your bones to make up the lack (calcium is an important metabolic nutrient, not just what makes up your bones.)
While it’s certain that something is inducing the body to secrete calcium, nobody’s certain what it is; there are links to kidney disease and kidney stones (which are calcium deposits in those organs), but there is no corroborating evidence. Likewise, overuse injuries of the rotator cuff do not trigger calcific tendinitis. It is possible to get rotator cuff wear on the shoulder; this is a common injury in quarterbacks and pitchers in pro sports, but these don’t necessarily become calcified.
The condition is rare in those under the age of 30; more than 95% of the cases are in people aged 30 and over.
What are the symptoms of calcific tendinitis?
Oftentimes, calcific tendinitis occurs without symptoms, especially if the deposits develop within the tendons deeply enough that they don’t “rub against” the rotator cuff. If a particularly large calcium deposit in the rotator cuff tendon rubs against the rotator cuff, it may cause what’s called “shoulder impingement syndrome,” where you feel pain if you raise your arm over your head.
Oftentimes, what happens is that the calcium crystals in the deposits begin to shed off and cause the tendons to inflame. This is often the first symptom of calcific tendinitis, as many people aren’t even aware they have until they experience this. Surprisingly, this is also when things may begin to “turn around” for the condition, because this is when the body may reabsorb those calcium deposits.
Most of the symptoms hurt abruptly; they aren’t permanent and last a week or two, until the deposits are broken up and reabsorbed by the body. Typical treatments include aspirin and ibuprofen – the standard anti-inflammatory drugs.
X rays will show if the shoulder pain you’re having is caused by calcific tendinitis. The calcium nodule will show up readily. Treatment is typically icing the shoulder and anti-inflammatory drugs like Tylenol and aspirin. Range of motion exercises prevent a “frozen shoulder” incident.
Severe pain can get your doctor to give you a shot of cortisone to reduce inflammation, or a steroid shot. Rarely, they may decide to run a hypodermic under the shoulder blade to break up the nodule and extract the pieces with a syringe. In a handful of cases, arthroscopic surgery to remove large deposits may be needed to restore the full range of motion to your shoulder.
Tom Nicholson spends his time caring for sufferers of carpal tunnel syndrome. You can click here to learn more aboutcalcific tendinitis.
great article… I think, anyone who has calcific tendinitis should visit some <a href=”http://www.orthopedicspecialistsofseattle.com/”>orthopedic specialist</a>.