The cause of shoulder pain, you would never guess this disease!

Most of the time, shoulder pain is muscle pain rather than joint pain. After all, the shoulder moves a lot in daily life, so it is normal to have pain. However, if you have unbearable shoulder pain without heavy physical labor, it is likely related to the following three types of diseases.

1. Joint diseases

Diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, periarthritis of the shoulder, scapular muscle strain, bursitis and tendonitis can cause shoulder pain.

2. Coronary Heart Disease

Coronary heart disease is a heart disease caused by coronary artery stenosis or spasm. During an attack, the myocardium will accumulate metabolic products due to ischemia and hypoxia. The metabolic products stimulate the afferent peripheral fibers of the cardiac autonomic nerves (they are actually pain receptors), and the receptors transmit the pain signal to the brain through the sympathetic ganglia in front of the 1st to 5th thoracic vertebrae and the corresponding spinal nerves, producing a feeling of pain in the brain. Since the pain in the shoulder, sternum, and left little finger is also transmitted to the brain through the sympathetic ganglia in front of the 1st to 5th thoracic vertebrae and the corresponding spinal nerves, the brain sometimes cannot distinguish whether the pain comes from the heart, the sternum, or the shoulder. Therefore, patients with coronary heart disease often experience shoulder pain, which sometimes even masks pain in other parts of the body, so shoulder pain should be a cause of high vigilance. In addition to shoulder pain, patients with coronary heart disease generally also experience compression-like discomfort behind the sternum or in front of the heart.

3. Lung Apex Cancer

There are many nerve plexuses around the apex of the lung, such as the cervical plexus that innervates the skin and muscles of the neck, and the brachial plexus that innervates the skin and muscles of the shoulders, back, and upper limbs. When cancer develops at the apex of the lung, the continuously developing cancerous tissue can compress or invade these nerves. For example, if it invades the brachial plexus, shoulder pain can occur. This pain is usually mainly in the armpit, radiating to the inner side of the upper limb, and is a burning pain, especially at night. If the shoulder is severely compressed, it will also affect the movement of the shoulder and upper limb.

Since the main symptoms of frozen shoulder are shoulder pain and limited mobility, sometimes the superior groove cancer at the apex of the lung is easily misdiagnosed as frozen shoulder. However, the shoulder pain caused by cancer cannot be relieved by the treatment of frozen shoulder, or it may worsen. In the later stage, there will be manifestations such as cancer metastasis and deterioration of systemic condition. Therefore, if the elderly have shoulder pain, they should go to the hospital to find out the cause in time.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the three Yang meridians of the hand are injured due to exogenous wind and dampness, wind-heat in the lungs, heavy weight bearing, falls and injuries, etc. The shoulder is the intersection of the three Yang meridians of the hand, and it also belongs to the lung area. For those caused by exogenous wind and dampness, the shoulder pain is posterior and often accompanied by back pain. The treatment should be to dispel wind and dampness, and the prescription is Qianghuo Shengshi Decoction with modifications; if it is caused by wind-heat in the lungs, the symptoms are shoulder pain posterior and pain extends to the arm, and the prescription is Fangfeng Decoction, Qianghuo Powder, etc. If it is caused by heavy weight bearing or falls and injuries, the pain is fixed, it is difficult to flex and extend, or the pain is extended to the neck, etc., it can be treated with a combination of traumatology, massage, and acupuncture.