The shoulder joint is the most mobile joint in your body and is more prone to everyday wear and tear. It is made up of a ball-and-socket joint formed out of three main bones: the humerus (long arm bones), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the clavicle (collarbone).

The Causes of Shoulder Pain

1. The shoulders can move in a range of motion thanks to the rotator cuff formed by the ball-and-socket joint. This joint enables you to move the shoulders forward and backward and move the arms in a circular motion, up and down, forward and backward. The rotator cuff is supported by four tendons; tissues connecting muscles to bones.

2. Shoulder pains can come about if the tendons or the bones within the rotator cuff are
swollen or damaged. A condition referred to as rotator cuff tendinitis. Another
common cause of shoulder pain is impingement syndrome. A condition that results from the rotator cuff getting stuck between the humeral head (the ball-head of the humerus bone) and the acromium (the scapula part covering the ball).

3. Aging is also another cause of shoulder pain. As you get older, the soft tissues
surrounding your joints degenerate. Individuals aged 60 and above are more likely to
have different all sorts of joint problems.

4. In other incidences, people experience referred shoulder pain. That happens when another part of your body (most likely the neck or biceps) is injured, and the pain affects your shoulder. This type of shoulder pain typically does not worsen when you move your shoulders.

Wrapping up

Shoulder pain can be the result of an injury or a medical condition. The most common causes can be summarized as heart attack, spinal cord injury, a pinched nerve in the shoulder or neck, bone spurs, arthritis, and torn cartilage.
Mild shoulder pain cases can be treated at home. However, severe cases can involve a diagnosis through an X-ray or MRI picture of the shoulder joint. Once the physician identifies the problem, treatment may include physical therapy, medication, or surgery.

However, you should always wear protective gear if you do extreme physical sports, including physical hits to the shoulders. Also, take some off to rest if you are involved in repetitive tasks requiring heavy use of the shoulders.