This page is awaiting validation. It does not replace a consultation or a programme adapted to your situation.
How does the shoulder move?
The shoulder combines the upper arm bone, shoulder blade and collarbone. The rounded humeral head rests in a socket on the shoulder blade. Rotator cuff muscles help guide it during movement, while the capsule and ligaments contribute to stability.
The shoulder blade also moves over the chest as you lift your arm. Its upper part connects to the collarbone at the AC joint. This cooperation allows considerable mobility and explains why shoulder pain describes a symptom rather than a single disease.
Chapter sources [1]
Understand the picture
Several parts working together
Bones and joints
The humerus, shoulder blade and collarbone enable movement.
Muscles and tendons
Move and guide the arm.
Capsule and ligaments
Contribute to joint stability.
Chapter sources [1]
Which problems does this guide cover?
Tendinopathy and bursitis involve tendons or tissues that help them glide. A tear means disrupted tendon fibres. Calcific tendinopathy involves a deposit within a tendon. Frozen shoulder mainly involves a stiffened capsule. Osteoarthritis affects joint surfaces and other joint tissues.
Other articles cover dislocation and instability, AC injuries, the biceps tendon and fractures. Symptoms overlap: difficulty raising the arm cannot by itself distinguish these problems. The circumstances, examination and sometimes imaging help clarify the cause.
Does pain always come from the shoulder?
No. Neck pain can be felt near the shoulder or down the arm. Report tingling, loss of sensation or weakness. Examination may assess a nerve and relate the symptoms to a possible origin.
Other medical causes sometimes need consideration. Chest discomfort, breathlessness, sweating or faintness should not be treated as ordinary muscle pain. Call 112 in Luxembourg for emergency signs. The painful side alone cannot exclude these situations.
What can a consultation offer?
A clinician explores when symptoms began, any injury, restricted tasks and relevant history. Examination assesses movement, strength and signs requiring another opinion. Imaging is useful when it answers a clinical question and may change care.
A scan report does not describe your entire shoulder: changes may occur without pain, while significant symptoms may exist without a major visible abnormality. Bring reports, but also explain what you cannot do, what concerns you and which activity matters most.
What can you do while awaiting assessment?
Without injury or warning signs, keep tolerable activities and temporarily reduce efforts that cause lasting worsening. Divide tasks and find comfortable arm support. Avoid repeated self-tests or painful stretches to identify a tendon yourself.
The exercise page explains small starting doses and stopping criteria. These examples do not replace an individual programme, particularly after surgery, fracture or dislocation. Seek advice if pain worsens, greatly limits the arm or does not begin improving after about two weeks.
In everyday life
Prepare for your consultation
Describe
When did it start, after what event, and with which other symptoms?
Show
Which everyday movements have become difficult?
Choose
Which activity would you most like to regain?
How do the guide sections work?
Use Pain & conditions to understand terms without diagnosing yourself. Exercises explains movements and their limits. Advice & prevention covers sleep, tasks and activity progression. Our treatment describes assessment and rehabilitation, including after surgery.
KinéCheck locates information by body region; it does not assess urgency. Kiné Diddeleng receives patients on medical prescription at 23 Av. Grande-Duchesse Charlotte in Dudelange. Care takes place at the practice, with no home visits. Do not wait for a practice callback in an emergency.
Your questions
Can I identify the cause from where it hurts?
Location is useful information but several conditions overlap. Examination and the circumstances help distinguish them.
Do I always need an MRI?
No. Imaging should answer a question that may change care. The clinician selects appropriate tests.
Chapter sources [2]
Should I keep the arm completely still?
Not routinely for uncomplicated pain. Maintain tolerable movement, but follow any specific protection instructions after injury or surgery.
Sources and references
- [1] AAOS OrthoInfo · Shoulder pain and common shoulder problems
- [2] HAS · Épaule douloureuse et coiffe des rotateurs, mise à jour 2026
- [3] AAOS OrthoInfo · Rotator cuff tears
- [4] AAOS OrthoInfo · Frozen shoulder
- [5] AAOS OrthoInfo · Chronic shoulder instability
- [6] NHS BNSSG · Calcific tendonitis of the shoulder
- [7] AAOS OrthoInfo · Arthritis of the shoulder
- [8] AAOS OrthoInfo · Shoulder trauma: fractures and dislocations
- [9] NHS Inform · Cervical radiculopathy
- [10] NHS · Heart attack
- [11] CGDIS Luxembourg · 112
- [12] NHS · Shoulder pain
- [13] NHS Inform · Exercises for shoulder problems
- [14] Kiné Diddeleng · Informations pratiques confirmées
Text updated on
Medical review: awaiting Hasib Selimovic.