Shoulder pain is a common condition in many people, it is likely that you or someone you know is suffering from shoulder pain right now.

However, if you were recently in an Greensboro auto accident, or frequently exert stress on your shoulder, you could have a potentially serious medical condition. In other words, don’t just shrug it off.

How do Shoulder Injuries Occur?

Shoulder injuries have many different sources such as:

• Car crashes (these are considered the most common source of shoulder injury)
• Overuse
• Wear and tear
• Slip and falls
• Sports (specifically baseball)

Shoulder injuries do not have to develop from a sudden event, as some shoulder injuries develop subtly over time.

What Kinds of Shoulder Injuries Could I Develop?

Your shoulder resides in a ball-and-socket joint. This allows your arm to have a wide range of movement, but also makes your shoulder more likely to be injured. Usually, a shoulder injury involves damaged tendons and muscles that keep your shoulder in place. Some specific shoulder injuries and conditions that people commonly suffer from are:

• Rotator cuff tear
• SLAP (Superior Labrum from Anterior to Posterior) tear
• Broken bones
• Bruises
• Strains and Sprains

What Symptoms Should I Look Out For?

Shoulder injury symptoms include:

• Shoulder pain (the largest and most common symptom of a shoulder injury)
• Stiffness
• Tingling
• Increased shoulder pain at night that may interrupt sleeping
• Restricted shoulder and arm movement
• Discolored shoulder area
• Swelling
• Numbness
• “Locking” or “popping” of the shoulder

It is important to note that in some cases shoulder pain may be so intense that a person will not move their shoulder for weeks at a time. This may result in “frozen shoulder” which means that the tendons in your shoulder will stiffen due to lack of movement. Thus you will only feel greater pain once you try to move your shoulder again. This will become a cycle, in which shoulder pain will stop you from moving your shoulder, which will only make your shoulder pain worse when you try to move it again. This is why it is important to seek medical aid as soon as possible for your shoulder pain.

What are My Options if I Have a Shoulder Injury?

There are a few different treatments that are available to people with shoulder injuries in a Greensboro Auto Accident. The solution may be as simple as elevating your arm and placing ice on the sore area of your shoulder. Or, the injury could be more serious, and require expensive surgery to fix the problem. Only a licensed physician would be able to adequately diagnose and treat a shoulder injury, but may require the use of examinations like x-rays, CAT scans, and MRIs.

The expenses for medical treatment could be staggering by the time you recover.

If you have been injured because of someone else’s negligence, you might be entitled to compensation.

Consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer to find out if you have a valid claim, and to seek compensation for your recovery.

Contact our Greensboro Personal Injury Lawyers today if you or someone you know has been injured or lost a loved one as a result of someone else’s negligence in a Greensboro Auto Accident.