Who runs this guide, and what can it do for me?

Who operates this site?

The clinic owners have a business interest when you choose their clinics. Don't forget that while reading information about QC Kinetix.

The words on this site aren't personal medical advice. Ask a clinician why any proposed care makes sense after examining your shoulder and reviewing your health.

What can this guide not tell me?

Only an in-person exam can test your strength, movement, neck and nerves. A clinician can also compare an x-ray with where you hurt and how your arm moves. Your health history matters before medicine or a procedure. Chest tightness, new weakness or a hot swollen joint needs direct care.

Use this guide to prepare questions, then get personal answers from an exam. Ask what is causing the soreness and which movement is safe. Tell the clinician what keeps you awake or stops daily chores. Ask again when medical wording isn't clear.

This guide can't choose among home care, therapy, clinic care or surgery. It also can't tell whether your medicines make a treatment unsafe. Your clinician can explain those choices after examining you. Before the visit, write down how the soreness started and what makes it worse. Don't leave out a fall, swelling, numbness or sudden weakness. You'll get clearer answers when each question names one daily problem.

Sources

1. At 10 years, arthroscopic subacromial decompression offered NO benefit over placebo surgery for subacromial pain syndrome: the mean difference in VAS pain was -1.5 points (95% CI -8.6 to 5.6) at rest and -3.2 points (-13.0 to 6.5) on arm activity, against a minimally important difference of 15. It also showed no benefit over exercise therapy.

   Kanto K, et al. — Arthroscopic subacromial decompression versus placebo surgery for subacromial pain syndrome: 10 year follow-up of the FIMPACT randomised, placebo surgery controlled trial.. BMJ, 2025. DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2025-086201.

2. In the MOON Shoulder prospective cohort of 452 patients with symptomatic, ATRAUMATIC full-thickness rotator cuff tears, physical therapy succeeded in more than 70% of patients at 10 years: only 115 (27.0%) had surgery at any point over the decade. Patient-reported outcomes improved with physical therapy and did NOT decline over 10 years in those who never had surgery. The strongest predictor of early surgery was low patient expectation of physical therapy, not tear anatomy.

   Kuhn JE, et al. — The Predictors of Surgery for Symptomatic, Atraumatic Full-Thickness Rotator Cuff Tears Change Over Time: Ten-Year Outcomes of the MOON Shoulder Prospective Cohort.. J Bone Joint Surg Am, 2024. DOI: 10.2106/JBJS.23.00978.

3. A double-blind randomized trial of 70 patients with chronic glenohumeral osteoarthritis compared a single ultrasound-guided leukocyte-poor PRP injection with hyaluronic acid. There were NO significant between-group differences in SPADI, ASES or pain at any point to 12 months; both groups improved significantly from 1-2 months onward regardless of arthritis severity, and platelet yield had no effect on outcome in the PRP arm.

   Kirschner JS, et al. — Efficacy of Ultrasound-Guided Glenohumeral Joint Injections of Leukocyte-Poor Platelet-Rich Plasma Versus Hyaluronic Acid in the Treatment of Glenohumeral Osteoarthritis: A Randomized, Double-Blind Controlled Trial.. Clin J Sport Med, 2022. DOI: 10.1097/JSM.0000000000001029.

4. A systematic review of seven case series (469 reverse total shoulder arthroplasties, mean age 71, mean 12-year follow-up) found weighted mean revision-free implant survivorship of 88% at 10 years, an overall complication rate of 36% and revision in 23% of patients - most often for infection (8%), instability (7%) and glenoid complications (3%) - alongside large functional gains (absolute Constant score 27 to 62).

   Biner M, et al. — Long-Term Outcomes Following Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review with a Minimum Follow-Up of 10 Years.. JB JS Open Access, 2025. DOI: 10.2106/JBJS.OA.25.00025.