Impingement Pain

This pain is felt in the middle part of movement, and is often described as a painful arc. Other names are given to this type of pain — you might have heard of subacromial bursitis, which is just the same thing. Whatever you call it, this type of pain has many possible causes. The commonest causes are:

• Muscle imbalance, leading to the tendons in your shoulder being trapped as you raise your arm.
• Acromial spur, which is a spike of bone that catches the tendons as you raise your arm.
• Calcific tendinopathy, in which a blob of calcium can form in the tendon, causing it to swell and catch as you move your arm.
• Rotator cuff tear, causing inflammation and pain when you move your arm in certain directions.

Whatever the cause, the treatment can include physiotherapy, injections, or surgery (usually keyhole surgery). The video above explains the causes and treatments of impingement in more detail.