Not the Shoulder

Question 1

List diagnoses for shoulder pain that aren’t caused by injury to the shoulder

Answer 1

• Cervical Spine
• Central sensitisation
• Cancer
• Viscera

Question 2

What are the red flags for cancer?

Answer 2

• Hx of cancer
• unexplained weight loss
• constant non-mechanical pain
• rapid progression
• night pain (worsens at night)
• systematically unwell

Question 3

What are the red flags of visceral pain (organs)?

Answer 3

• non-mechanical symptoms
• systemically unwell
• relevant history: travel, PMHx, FHx

Question 4

What are the clinical features of cervical (shoulder) pain?

Answer 4

• symptoms elsewhere besides the shoulder/upper arm
• neural symptoms
• positive cervical quadrant
• positive spinal palpation
• positive neurodynamic tests