The shoulder moves through a larger range than any other joint in the body, and it achieves that range by trading away stability. A great deal has to work together for the arm to reach overhead and behind the back, which is why a problem in one structure so often presents as pain that is difficult to localize.

Steven Struhl, MD has built a practice around two joints rather than the whole skeleton, and the shoulder is the more complicated of them. He is board certified in orthopedic surgery and holds separate board certification in sports medicine and arthroscopic surgery, trained at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California, San Francisco, Montefiore Medical Center, and Penn State University, serves on the faculty of NYU School of Medicine and as an attending surgeon at NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, and holds United States Patent 8,162,997 for an orthopedic reconstruction device. He has practiced in New York since 1991.

Shoulder Pain Conditions We Treat in NYC and Westchester

From shoulder sports injuries and arthritis to overuse and accident injuries, Dr. Struhl can offer relief from painful shoulder conditions. Dr. Struhl focuses on minimally-invasive treatments for shoulder pain relief, including physical therapy, interventional pain management, and arthroscopic surgeries. Some of the types of shoulder pain conditions we treat include:

How Shoulder Problems Are Evaluated

Examination comes before imaging and usually narrows the diagnosis on its own. Where the pain sits, which movements provoke it, whether it wakes you at night, and how the shoulder behaves under specific resisted tests each point in different directions. Radiographs show bone, arthritis, and the position of the humeral head. MRI shows tendon, labrum, and cartilage, and it is ordered when the examination raises a specific question rather than as a first step.

Most shoulder problems are treated without an operation. Physical therapy, injection, and activity modification resolve the majority of rotator cuff, impingement, and arthritis symptoms, and surgery is reserved for structural problems that will not settle on their own.

Schedule a Shoulder Consultation in New York City

Shoulder pain that has been treated as a strain for several months without improving is usually a diagnosis that has not been made precisely rather than a treatment that has not worked. Dr. Struhl evaluates shoulder conditions at his Manhattan and Westchester offices. Contact us to schedule an appointment.