The shoulder joint is one of the five major areas of the body involved in sports injuries. Sportsmen who over use the shoulder in throwing or overhead activities as in cricket bowlers, volleyball, Javelin throw, after a fall, gymnasts are all at risk of developing shoulder injuries. It can be injured to falls on the arm or due to traction as in some contact sports like rugby. In this article I shall discuss the various types of injuries of the shoulder and its neighboring structures.

I present salient feature of its anatomy for a better understanding of the various injuries.

Anatomy

The shoulder is the most mobile joint in the human body, yet is the most insecure. It is a ball and socket joint formed by the upper end of the arm bone (humerus) joining with the shoulder blade (scapula). It is surrounded by a bag like tissue called the capsule. A group of tendons called the rotator cuff are closely related to the shoulder. They serve as dynamic restraints. There is a discrepancy between the radius of curvature of the ball and its socket which renders the shoulder potentially unstable. This is akin to a golf ball perched on a tee. This inherently unstable joint is rendered stable by soft tissue restraints, the bony orientation and a negative suction force between the components. A great deal of movement is possible at the shoulder to allow the arm to be positioned in space.

The price for this great range of movement is instability which is described below. Closely related to the joint are important nerves and blood vessels of the upper limb in their course downwards from the chest to the arm.

Types of shoulder injuries

1) Instability-

Shane Warne