Orthopedics, Sports Medicine, Neurosurgery Located in Huntsville, Madison, Athens & Decatur, AL
SportsMED Orthopedic Surgery & Spine Center
For severe joint damage or deterioration, shoulder surgery might be necessary and could involve soft tissue repair or even a total joint replacement. At SportsMED, the board-certified physicians specialize in all forms of shoulder surgery, using minimally invasive techniques wherever possible. Call us today or use the online form to book an appointment at any of our four locations servicing the communities of Huntsville, Madison, Athens, and Decatur, Alabama.
Shoulder Surgery Q & A
Why would I need shoulder surgery?
You might need shoulder surgery if your shoulder is damaged or if you have a degenerative problem in the joint that isn’t getting better with conservative treatments.
Your shoulders are the most flexible joints in your body, with an almost 360-degree range of motion that enables you to put your hands virtually anywhere you need. However, the shoulder joint’s mobility leaves it vulnerable as it lacks the stability of a less mobile joint.
Shoulder conditions are often extremely painful and can have a significant impact on everyday activities, especially those that involve:
- Reaching
- Pushing
- Pulling
- Lifting
- Overhead movements
The team of shoulder specialists at SportsMED Orthopedic Surgery & Spine Center understands the restrictions shoulder pain can cause in day-to-day life.
If you’re an athlete with shoulder pain, your arthritis is causing a reduced range of motion, or you have a traumatic injury to your shoulder, SportsMED can help.
What conditions might require shoulder surgery?
Some of the most common shoulder conditions the team at SportsMED treat include:
- Arthritis
- Biceps tendinopathy
- Bone spurs
- Bursitis
- Fractures and dislocations
- Frozen shoulder
- Impingement
- Labral tears
- Overuse injuries
- Proximal humerus fracture
- Rotator cuff injuries
- Shoulder instability
- SLAP tears
- Sprains and strains
- Tendinitis
Your shoulder has a group of muscles and tendons called the rotator cuff surrounding the shoulder joint. The rotator cuff’s job is to keep the head of your humerus (upper arm bone) firmly in your shoulder socket. Rotator cuff injuries are a common problem and frequently happen at the same time as shoulder dislocations.
Labral tears are also a common complication of dislocations. The labrum is a ring of cartilage that lines the glenoid (socket) of your shoulder and helps keep the ball at the end of your humerus in the socket.
What kinds of shoulder surgery are there?
There are numerous different kinds of shoulder surgeries that might help alleviate your pain. Some of the common types of surgeries are: arthroscopic repair of labral tears and rotator cuff injuries, total shoulder joint replacement arthroplasty, or reverse total shoulder surgery.
Arthroscopic surgery involves using specialized instruments that fit through small incisions into your shoulder joint. Arthroscopy is preferable to open surgery as it causes less damage to the surrounding tissues, less pain, bleeding, and scarring, and enables faster healing. Wherever possible, the surgeons at SportsMED use arthroscopic techniques to carry out shoulder surgery. After surgery, you attend physical therapy to strengthen and achieve the full function of your shoulder again.
For more information about shoulder surgery, call today or schedule an appointment using the online booking feature