What is impingement?
Impingement syndrome is a fancy word for “pinching” of the rotator cuff muscles in the shoulder. The muscles get pinched between two bones (the humeral head and the acromion process) and this causes inflammation. Inflammation will lead to more pinching and that is when you get pain. The pain is usually felt on the outside of the shoulder or arm area and can radiate to the elbow or into the neck. I usually see impingement in patients over the age of 30 and very rarely in the younger patient. Anyone can get it – from sedentary patients to athletes. Reaching overhead or use of the arm in certain directions makes the pain worse. Popping or snapping in the shoulder may be felt with movement. As the impingement syndrome progresses the rotator cuff muscles weaken and may subsequently tear. This is one of the ways you can tear the rotator cuff muscles. What are the causes of impingement? There are multiple causes, but the most common is a small bone spur or a tight ligament. These structures a
