Shoulder injury happens frequently in sports because overuse, collision or a fall can be the source. While tennis, baseball, swimming and football generate many of these incidents, accidental shoulder trauma can occur in relation to nearly any athletic activity. Common injuries include muscle strains and tears of the rotator cuff tissue or tendinitis, shoulder trauma from fractures and shoulder dislocation. Among traumatic injuries, broken collarbones, or clavicles, and dislocations are typical of contact sports.
Tendinitis
Athletes may know tendinitis as swimmer's shoulder or pitcher's shoulder. These represent shoulder injury to the muscles and tendons of the rotator cuff. According to the University of Maryland (UM) Medical Center, shoulder tendinitis is caused by muscle strain during overhead movement. This stress on the muscles and tendons creates inflammation. A sudden, overtaxing movement or repetitive overuse can bring on tendinitis. An acute shoulder injury may elicit pain during motion of the rotator cuff. A chronic muscle strain may become evident through growing weakness when raising the arms above shoulder height. The UM Medical Center notes that chronic inflammation may involve muscle tears or bone spurs.
Dislocation
Dislocated shoulder trauma occurs often in football, hockey and soccer, reports University Sports Medicine. Anterior dislocations dislodge the upper arm bone, or humerus, out of the joint socket through force on the front of the shoulder. This can take place in falling onto an outstretched hand or in response to shoulder contact with the ground. Posterior dislocations create the same effect through force from behind, usually from a violent twisting or jerking. A large bump will appear at the front or back of the shoulder, depending upon the orientation of the dislocation. The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine notes that because of the severity of shoulder trauma, tendon and muscle strains accompany many dislocations.
Fracture
Shoulder injury to the clavicle occurs in contact sports, such as football, and in sports associated with falls, such as gymnastics, skiing or horseback riding. Falling onto an outstretched hand can convey the force from elbow to collarbone. Landing on a shoulder or receiving a blow to the collarbone itself during a fall can also result in a fracture. The site of the fracture will be the site of pain and visible symptoms. University Sports Medicine relates that symptoms a broken collarbone may include an audible "crack," intense localized pain and swelling and loss of range of motion. An unevenness under the skin indicates the jagged edges of fractured bone.
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