Stop Shoulder Pain Now
Simple strategies can help you find real relief
The shoulders have the greatest range of motion of any joints in the body. Their complexity—each has three bones and four joints, plus muscles, tendons, and ligaments—means there’s a lot that can go wrong.
Shoulder pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal symptoms in adults. "There are many reasons why people develop shoulder pain, in particular as we get older: Wear and tear accumulates, cartilage thins, and tendons fray," says Mark C. Bicket, MD, PhD, an associate professor of anesthesiology at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor.
An aching shoulder can interfere with tasks like driving, showering, and reaching. Your primary care doctor or a physical therapist can advise on a treatment plan, with a referral to a physiatrist or an orthopedist if needed. Many at-home strategies can also help.
4 Steps for Comfort
Rest: This gives an aching shoulder time to heal. To avoid stiffness, keep doing easy activities that don’t cause pain. And avoid heavy lifting.
Take Care With These
Over-the-counter drugs: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve) can help ease flare-ups, but they shouldn’t be taken daily for more than a week or so without a doctor’s supervision. And take the lowest effective dose.
Injections: Studies have shown that corticosteroid injections have short-term benefits for shoulder pain (less than 12 weeks) but aren’t effective as a long-term solution. Too many steroid injections can weaken tendons and cartilage over time, Bicket says, so they should be limited to a few times per year. They work particularly well for inflammatory conditions like bursitis, says Steven P. Cohen, MD, Edmond I. Eger Professor of Anesthesiology at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.
When to See the Doctor
There are many reasons a shoulder might hurt, including overuse and age-related degeneration (such as osteoarthritis). But certain types of shoulder pain require medical attention.
See a doctor if you think you have a fracture, dislocation, or torn muscle. Symptoms of those injuries may include immediate severe pain, swelling, bruising, numbness, or an inability to move the shoulder.
Go to an emergency room or urgent care "if you can’t lift your arm, or something visibly doesn’t look right," Bicket says. For example, if your hand or arm goes numb, cold, or blue after an injury, it could mean a serious problem with a nerve or blood vessel that requires immediate attention. Head to an ER if you have left shoulder pain radiating into the chest, along with shortness of breath or sweating. This could signal a heart attack.
Editor’s Note: A version of this article also appeared in the February 2026 issue of Consumer Reports on Health.
