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Shoulder pain is any type of pain or discomfort in or around the shoulder joint. It can feel like a dull ache and build slowly over weeks or months, or it may present itself as a sudden, sharp type of discomfort.
To discover a way to live without shoulder pain, consult our orthopedic specialists in the Bay Area at Dignity Health.
Symptoms that are common with shoulder pain include:
Seek urgent (same-day) care for:
In some cases, shoulder pain can be a sign of a heart attack. Call 9-1-1 if you have shoulder pain with these symptoms:
Most shoulder pain causes are due to problems with the shoulder joint and surrounding structures, such as:
When you come to one of our Dignity Health locations in the Bay Area, your doctor will ask about your symptoms, physically examine your shoulder, and measure your strength and ability to rotate your shoulder and lift your arm. They may also utilize an imaging test, such as an X-ray, CT scan, MRI, arthrography or arthroscopy.
Find a doctor who can answer all of your questions about shoulder conditions, along with treatment for shoulder pain, by using our Find a Doctor tool to locate a specialist near you.
Dignity Health is an expert resource for shoulder pain in San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Redwood City.