The shoulder joint, which connects the upper limb to the torso, is made up of several joints and shows the greatest range of motion of any joint in the body. The bone structures (humerus, scapula, collarbone and sternum) are surrounded by numerous ligaments, muscles, tendons and bursae, which ensure stabilization of the shoulder and smooth movements.
The most important role is played by the so-called the rotator cuff, which is a group of four muscles and their tendons surrounding one of the joints, i.e. the shoulder-scapular joint.Ailments from the shoulder joint are common. Their most common causes are overload, repetitive micro-overloads and injuries of the surrounding soft tissues (mainly the rotator cuff), arising during everyday activities or sports activities.
The underlying cause of shoulder pain may be degenerative changes that worsen with age, although osteoarthritis of the shoulder is less common than disease of other joints. You should also remember about various inflammatory rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis or rheumatic polymyalgia; in addition to shoulder pain, other symptoms of the disease most often occur in their course. Less frequently, shoulder pain is a manifestation of diseases of other organs, incl. a heart attack or a lung tumor.