Sharp Shoulder Pain

The shoulders are one of the most commonly used parts of the body. Think back on your various activities you perform every day and you will realize that so many of them, directly or indirectly involve the use of the shoulder muscle and joint. Hence, due to overuse, there may be an occurrence of sharp pain in left shoulder or a sharp pain in right shoulder.

Sharp Pain in Lifting Shoulder

There may be several reasons why you have that sharp pain in your left shoulder. Let us see the various causes of sharp shoulder pain.

Muscle Sprain
The most common cause of sharp shoulder pain is a muscular sprain. Sometimes, the shoulder muscles may get sprained due to an extremely heavy workout schedule. A muscle may also get sprained because you have made a wrong motion in your exercise, which led to a high amount of pressure on a delicate part of the muscle. When the muscle is strained, it will cause a shooting pain when you move it. To avoid this pain, it's better that you warm up well, before a workout.

Injury to Rotator Cuff
A sharp shoulder pain may also have been caused by an injury to the rotator cuff. The rotator cuff is the anatomical structure of muscles and tendons, which help keep the shoulder in place. This injury too may be caused due to excessive workout, wrong repetitive motion or due to a strong blow to the shoulder, because of a fall.

Shoulder Dislocation
Shoulder dislocation may also be one of the causes of sharp shoulder pain. Shoulder dislocation is the separation of the ball and socket joint of the shoulder. Shoulder dislocation should be distinguished from shoulder separation. In case of shoulder separation, the collarbone and the shoulder bone get separated. Both these conditions are due to a sharp, heavy blow to the shoulders.

Arthritis
One of the most common problems suffered by people over the world, the cause of your sharp shoulder pain may be due to arthritis in the shoulders. There are generally two types of arthritis which you may be suffering from. Osteoarthritis is a condition, where there is a slow and progressive wear and tear in the shoulder joint. Rheumatoid arthritis, on the other hand, is an inflammation in the lining of the shoulder joint.

Bursitis
This medical condition is very common and is a very characteristic shoulder problem. The bursa is a fluid-filled sac in the shoulder that makes the movement of the ball and socket joint easier by acting as a lubricant. Bursitis is the inflammation of the bursa. Bursitis may be caused due to an infection.

Tendinitis
Another problem which causes a sharp shoulder pain is tendinitis. There are two main types of tendinitis. Acute tendinitis is a medical condition caused due to overuse of the tendons. Chronic tendinitis may be due to a degenerative disease or aging.

Other Causes
Sometimes a shoulder pain may not always be a problem, but a symptom of a larger underlying problem. A right shoulder pain is commonly associated with gallbladder disease and sometimes also with breast cancer. A left shoulder pain may be a symptom of an underlying chest or stomach problem.

It is essential that you do not ignore shoulder pain as it may lead to a long term wear and tear of the joint or muscle. Hence, whenever you have shoulder pain, go to a doctor immediately.