1. Least Effective Exercises Slideshow
2. Dehydration Slideshow
3. First Aid Care and Pain Relief for Minor Injuries

Medical Author:

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John P. Cunha, DO, is a U.S. board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician. Dr. Cunha's educational background includes a BS in Biology from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and a DO from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in Kansas City, MO. He completed residency training in Emergency Medicine at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey.

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Medical Editor:

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Dr. Balentine received his undergraduate degree from McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. He attended medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine graduating in1983. He completed his internship at St. Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia and his Emergency Medicine residency at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx, where he served as chief resident.

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It is often difficult to tell a moderately severe shoulder separation from a fracture of one of the shoulder bones, an injury in the rotator cuff, a torn labrum (ligaments that hold the shoulder in place), or a dislocation of the shoulder (in which the bone in the upper arm [humerus] comes out of the shoulder joint).

Signs of a severe shoulder separation include severe pain, limited range of motion, popping sensation with slight motion, and cold or numb fingers.

Because some cases of severe shoulder injury may give you only mild pain with a slight decrease in mobility, people with a shoulder injury often need physician's examination and an X-ray.

Mild tenderness to the top of the shoulder may be consistent with a minor bruise. If these symptoms go away with ice, acetaminophen (Tylenol), or ibuprofen (Motrin), this injury is unlikely to produce serious or chronic problems.

Severe pain, cold or numb fingers, severe or persistent decreased range of motion, and deformity of the shoulder indicate the presence of a potentially serious shoulder injury. If these signs and symptoms are present, go to the hospital's emergency department for prompt diagnosis and treatment.

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