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[Text on screen:
Ohio State Health & Discovery Health Talks
When does shoulder pain mean you need surgery?]

[Text on screen:
Ryan Rauck, MD
Orthopedic Surgeon
Ohio State Wexner Medical Center]

Ryan Rauck, MD: The majority of shoulder pain can resolve without surgical treatment. I would say the big distinguishing factor is what causes the pain. So if it's more of a degenerative condition or overuse type of injury versus a traumatic event. 

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So I'd say the majority of what we see is an overuse or tendonitis type of injury that responds pretty well to non operative treatment. If those treatments are no longer effective, then we start thinking more about surgical options. 

As far as what leads to shoulder surgery, I'd say the most common thing that we see is traumatic injuries. So whether it's a fall, or an awkward dog leash pull that causes a rotator cuff tear or a fracture around the shoulder, those typically benefit from early evaluation to come up with a personalized treatment plan that often can involve surgery. 

There's a wide range of shoulder surgeries available, ranging from minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery, to more of the open procedures that are necessary for more complex trauma or revision cases, all of which are offered at Ohio State. 

So the recovery time after shoulder surgery depends on what the treatment is for. Some rotator cuff injuries or surgery can take several months to recover from, whereas more straightforward shoulder replacements can actually be a quicker recovery, despite being a more, or larger incision to do the procedure. So a lot of it just depends on protecting whatever is repaired, and then allowing the appropriate time for physical therapy and rehabilitation.

The goal is always to get patients back to a hundred percent of what they were before. Sometimes that's not always possible depending on other degenerative conditions going on in the shoulder. 

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But I would say if you give it time and appropriate physical therapy, our goal is to get you back to your baseline, whatever that may be.

[Text on screen: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
For more information, visit:
go.osu.edu/orthopedics]

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