II. History: Injury

  1. Mechanism of Injury
    1. Direct blow to Shoulder (e.g. Fall on Shoulder)
    2. Fall on Outstretched Hand
  2. Prior Shoulder injuries or dislocations
    1. Shoulder Pain without Trauma is often due to Shoulder Impingement or calcific Tendinopathy

III. History: Age at onset

V. History: Provocative factors

VI. History: Associated Symptoms

  1. Arm weakness
    1. Rotator Cuff Tear (esp. complete tear)
    2. Shoulder Impingement
    3. Glenohumeral Osteoarthritis
    4. Peripheral Neuropathy (e.g. Cervical Radiculopathy)
  2. Decreased Shoulder Range of Motion
    1. Adhesive Capsulitis
    2. Severe Glenohumeral Osteoarthritis
  3. Distal arm Paresthesias beyond elbow (esp. if Neck Pain)
    1. Cervical disc disorder
    2. Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
  4. Instability Sensation (especially if history of prior Shoulder Dislocation)
    1. Glenohumeral Instability (Shoulder Dislocation, Shoulder Subluxation)
  5. Catching or locking Sensation
    1. Glenohumeral labrum tear
    2. Glenohumeral Arthritis
  6. Comorbid conditions or referred pain
    1. See Shoulder Pain for differential diagnosis
    2. Diabetes Mellitus predisposes to Adhesive Capsulitis

VII. References

  1. Kiel and Koneru (2019) Crit Dec Emerg Med 33(9): 17-27
  2. Yedlinsky (2021) Am Fam Physician 103(3):147-54 [PubMed]

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