At the Barr Center, our approach to shoulder pain relief begins and ends with our patients.

Because the shoulder joint has the greatest range of motion of any joint in the body, your shoulders are used for many different activities and movements. Shoulder pain can significantly inhibit your ability to perform simple day-to-day activities like taking a shower, working on a computer or even driving.

Patients who visit the Barr Center for shoulder pain relief often are unable to lead the active lifestyles to which they are accustomed due to a shoulder injury, aging or a medical condition. Our treatments focus on restoring your ability to live a healthy, active lifestyle. This starts with identifying the source of your pain. Treatment then starts with our initial focus on the pain generators and then expands to include compensatory issues that develop in response to the pain.

Shoulder Pain Diagnosis

Shoulder problems often develop from everyday wear and tear, overuse, or an injury. They can also be caused by the natural process of aging. Pain may arise from the shoulder joint itself or from any of the many surrounding muscles, ligaments or tendons. Shoulder pain that originates from the joint and rotator cuff tendons usually worsens with activities or movement of your arm or shoulder. Pain worse at night is often associated with bursitis of the shoulder.

Degenerative cervical spine issues particularly at C4-5 and C5-6 levels commonly refer pain to the shoulder. Carpal tunnel syndrome can also refer pain up to the shoulder. Additionally, various diseases and conditions affecting structures in your chest or abdomen, such as heart disease or gallbladder disease, also can cause shoulder pain. Shoulder pain that arises from another structure is called referred pain. Referred shoulder pain usually doesn’t worsen when you move your shoulder.

In your very first appointment at the Barr Center, we’ll ask you to describe your shoulder pain, its history and what you think has contributed to its occurrence. A physical examination, x-rays and imaging studies will follow. Diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasounds may be used to reach an accurate diagnosis.

Shoulder conditions we frequently treat include:

• Arthritis of the AC joint, sternoclavicular (SC) joint and Glenohumeral joint
• Subacromial / subdeltoid Bursitis
• Rotator cuff tendonitis and rotator cuff tears and tendonitis
• Rotator cuff impingement
• Instability of the shoulder & ligament laxity
• Frozen shoulder
• Labral tears
• Myofascial dysfunction

Patient Success Story

“After 30 years of not doing much more than walking for exercise, I decided to run a Spartan race with my daughter to see if I could finish.  I had so much fun that I started training more often and that’s when I aggravated an old high-school shoulder injury.

In Dr. Barr’s words, “I have a lot going on in there” including a severely torn labrum that made me a candidate for surgery. After two rounds of PRP and a few weeks of physical therapy, my shoulder was back to 90% and is getting stronger every day. I’ve resumed my training and racing again.” – E.H.

Treatment Philosophy

Once we assess your condition and have diagnosed the cause of your pain, our goal is to use the least invasive, non-surgical approach to relieving your pain. Our clinicians will work with you to assess your shoulder condition starting with a thorough physical exam.  We often perform a complete diagnostic ultrasound in our office- looking for rotator cuff tears, tendonitis, bursitis, arthritis and instability. Once an accurate diagnosis is made then we prescribe important exercises to improve shoulder range of motion, strength and function.  As part of our holistic approach we always address healthy lifestyle and nutrition tips that can reduce recurrence, minimize inflammation and keep you as healthy as possible.

Treatments we frequently perform include:

• Dry needling
• Trigger point injections
• Osteopathic manipulation
• Steroid injections
• Prolotherapy injections
• Prolozone therapy
• PRP injections
• Stem cell injections: amniotic, fat grafting and bone marrow concentrate
• Physical therapy

Can the Barr Center Help You with Shoulder Pain Relief?

Call us at 757-578-2260 or email us at [email protected] to get started on relieving your shoulder pain. To learn more about the anatomy of the shoulder and the causes of shoulder pain, visit our blog articles below for more information.

Learn More

Other pain management conditions we treat are: Neck Pain, Back Pain, Hip Pain and Knee Pain. We often use Regenerative Medicine, and sometimes combine physical therapy, in our pain management treatments.