Shoulder pain can occur due to injuries, overuse, or age-related wear and tear, and often limits daily activities. Most causes — rotator cuff injuries, SLAP tears, frozen shoulder and impingement — respond to precise, ultrasound-guided treatment and rehabilitation without surgery.
Repetitive overhead activity, sports injuries, diabetes, poor posture and ageing are the usual risk factors. The shoulder trades stability for range: a shallow socket held by the four rotator cuff tendons and a capsule. The tendons fray or tear, the bursa above them pinches, and the capsule can thicken and contract — frozen shoulder — particularly in diabetics.
Physical examination with movement testing, then ultrasound or MRI for tendon and labral injuries. Dynamic ultrasound of the tendons and bursa is done in the same visit; some shoulder pain is referred from the neck, and the examination separates the two.
Conditions treated
Tendinopathy or tearing of the cuff tendons, most often the supraspinatus or subscapularis; pain on lifting and at night. Partial tears and tendinopathy are treated with ultrasound-guided PRP and regenerative tendon-repair techniques alongside a loading programme. Large or complex tears in active patients are referred for surgical repair.
A tear of the labrum at the top of the socket, where the biceps anchors — deep shoulder pain with overhead movement, clicking or a sense of catching. Confirmed on MRI; treated with rehabilitation and ultrasound-guided regenerative injection, with surgical repair reserved for persistent mechanical symptoms in young, active patients.
The capsule inflames, thickens and contracts, passing through painful, stiff and thawing phases — untreated it may take months to years. Ultrasound-guided injection and hydrodilatation (stretching the capsule with fluid) shorten the painful phase, and regenerative therapies can speed recovery so physiotherapy progresses.
The bursa above the cuff inflames and pinches under the acromion when the arm is raised. An ultrasound-guided injection into the bursa settles it; rehabilitation corrects the mechanics that caused it.
Overload of the long head of biceps in its groove at the front of the shoulder. Ultrasound-guided injection along the tendon sheath — never into the tendon — with PRP for persistent cases.
Wear of the small joint at the top of the shoulder; pain on reaching across the body. Treated with a precise ultrasound-guided injection into the joint.
Fifteen to thirty minutes under ultrasound guidance and local anaesthesia. Most patients drive home. PRP requires a short blood draw first.
It often improves gradually but may take months to years; regenerative therapies can speed recovery.
No — many partial tears respond to physiotherapy and regenerative treatments.
Many tears seen on scans are partial or age-related and are not the cause of pain. Whether to repair depends on the tear, your age, your activity and the strength on examination.
No. Movement within comfort is encouraged from the same day.