Dr. Steven Levin (NorthShore)
Frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, is a condition that causes stiffness in the shoulder joint and lack of motion. There are many causes and can be associated with diabetes or thyroid problems. It can also be seen after shoulder trauma. Typically it is a self remitting disease process, which means it runs its course and heals on its own, but may take several months. It is usually treated with extensive physical therapy, occasionally injections and rarely surgical release. It usually does not recur once it has been treated. I actually recently published a chapter on Frozen Shoulder in an orthopaedic text.

Dr. Steven Levin (NorthShore)
Nerve type pain can be coming from the neck, actually. If it seems to be radiating pain it may be coming from nerve root irritation from a disc in the neck. If that is the case it would need to be properly diagnosed with possibly an MRI. If in fact there is a slight disc problem this can often be treated with physical therapy. Other possibilities could be impingement, or rotator cuff issues, although typically this is not described as "nerve" pain. If that were the case therapy usually helps and occasionally injection of cortisone, but one would need to make the appropriate diagnosis first.

Dr. Steven Levin (NorthShore)
This situation is very similar to the previous question I just commented on. Based on the information you provided, I would probably get an MRI of the neck to see if there is a herniated disc which could be causing your symptoms. If that were to be the case and therapy is not helping, I would seek advice from a spine specialist and possibly consider epidural steroid injection. If severe and not responding to other conservative treatment options, surgery may be indicated.

Dr. Steven Levin (NorthShore)
Some studies have followed patients with small full thickness rotator cuff tears and have shown healing. However, typically they do not fully heal and can progress. If a rotator cuff tear is diagnosed early on, it usually does progress slowly and surgery is the best way to address it. Surgery allows the tendon to heal back to bone and gives the patient the best chance of increased range of motion and strength vs. non-operative treatment in most cases.

Dr. Steven Levin (NorthShore)
There are many factors that go into the decision making process for recurrent dislocations. If you are younger and it recurs often and you have failed physical therapy, then surgery is definitely indicated. Typically when one has recurrent dislocation, the labrum, or ligaments, are torn and this then leads to shoulder instability. If a concerted effort at physical therapy has not helped, then surgically reconstructing the ligaments or repairing them has a very high success rate. This can be achieved by outpatient minimally invasive surgery.

Dr. Steven Levin (NorthShore)
If your shoulder is stable and is withstanding the rigors of rugby currently without any feeling of shoulder instability then you could continue playing. However, if you have had 2 documented instances of your shoulder coming out of joint where it had to be put back in by a physician, then the chances are very high that you have ligament and/or bone damage whereby surgery would be indicated. If your shoulder dislocates again, I would strongly recommend surgery. You would need appropriate pre-op studies such as an MRI and/or CT scan to determine the specific procedure you would need.

Dr. Steven Levin (NorthShore)
Reverse shoulder arthroplasty, or replacement, is meant for patients who have irrepairable rotator cuff tears and arthritis of their shoulders. It is different from regular shoulder replacement based on the biomechanics of the shoulder joint wherein the patient does not have a functioning rotator cuff. This makes the surgery just a bit more complicated, but the procedure works very well. The ball of the shoulder is placed where the socket is, and the socket is placed where the ball typically is, thus "reverse". It is done this way to take advantage of the big muscle on the side and top of the shoulder, the deltoid, which motors the shoulder replacement. Recovery is actually not very involved. In most cases patients stay in the hospital 1 night, and do 1-2 months of therapy and then are done.

Dr. Steven Levin (NorthShore)
I typically do not see this, but certainly can occur. If you truly are suffering from biceps tendonitis the therapist could institute iontophoresis treatments, which are steroid medicated gels that are electrically stimulated into the area of inflammation. This along with stretching and other therapy modalities could be quite helpful. If that does not work, occasionally injection into the biceps tendon sheath helps.

Dr. Steven Levin (NorthShore)
If you have bursitis, or impingement, without a torn rotator cuff, this can be treated with physical therapy. It typically does not require surgery. If you have a torn rotator cuff and are a young, active patient, surgery is typically indicated, as the tendon tear could progress and become much more difficult to repair down the road. Treatmen for rotator cuff tears to some degree are individualized depending on patient age, activity level, degree of tearing etc.

Dr. Steven Levin (NorthShore)
This is a difficult question to answer based on the information provided, ie what type of cadaver part was put in your shoulder and for what reason. In general, however, if you are having pain after shoulder surgery where a cadaver part has been put in I would definitely want to make sure there was no infection. Other studies would be needed to diagnose this, but it would be extremely important to rule that out. After that one would want to make sure there was no other mechanical problem going on, but again more information would be needed to answer these types of questions.

Dr. Steven Levin (NorthShore)
If you are talking about arthroscopic rotator cuff repair it is approximately a 4 month process for full recovery. This is somewhat individualized however based certain factors. One could do a desk type job within a couple of days, but heavy labor would take anywhere from 4-6 months or longer depending on the actual job requirements. Patients are usually pretty functional after a couple of months, but are not ready at that time to do heavy activity as the tendon is still healing and one could risk damage to it at this early juncture.

Dr. Steven Levin (NorthShore)
It is rare for very young patients, ie under age 15 or 16 to have shoulder dislocations. If your son is older and has had 3 dislocations it would seem to me that he needs surgery. I absolutely believe he would be able to continue playing at the same level. There are many examples of professional athletes who return to their same level of play after reconstructive surgery for shoulder dislocations. I have personally seen the same with USA National Rugby players also.

Dr. Steven Levin (NorthShore)
If antiinlammatories and other measures such as physical therapy have not helped, I would be inclined to look into your problem further with possibly an MRI, as you may have something more significant going on such as a rotator cuff tear. If that were to be the case, surgery may be necessary, depending on other factors such as your age and activity level.

Dr. Steven Levin (NorthShore)
Bone spurs can be acquired over time from overuse or trauma. They can also be part of your normal anatomy. There is a bone that sits over your rotator cuff called the acromion that had three basic shapes. One of them is a hooked or curved bone that patients often refer to as "spurs". If therapy and general strengthening has not helped, oftentimes arthroscopy acromioplasty, or burring down the spur, is curative. A similar procedure could be done at the end of the clavicle or AC jont.

Dr. Steven Levin (NorthShore)
Lack of motion and chronic pain are the usual signs of arthritis. This diagnosis could easily be made with xrays. If the pain is to the point where it is affecting your daily activities I would certainly recommend seeing a doctor as there are many things that could be done to help alleviate your pain. If you were at the point where you had bone on bone with arthritic spurs, then typically shoulder replacement surgery is the ultimate treatment option. That would be indicated only after you have exhausted all other non-opertive treatment options first.