Shoulder pain after a car accident requires expert evaluation and diagnosis. Fractures, dislocations, and rotator cuff tears are just a few injuries that may be sustained from a car accident. Prompt and accurate diagnosis of shoulder pain is necessary to reduce the risk of complications.
At Tulsa Accident Care Center, Robert Mitchell, MD, and our team of accident care specialists take the utmost care in quickly and accurately diagnosing car accident injuries so that you can start effective treatment and get on the road to recovery.
Our team of specialists routinely evaluates and diagnoses shoulder pain. We have the necessary equipment and experts on-site to diagnose the cause of your shoulder pain. In this post you’ll learn about some of the most common ways we diagnose shoulder injuries.
A physical exam is often the first step in evaluating the cause of your shoulder pain. During a physical exam of the shoulder, your provider will inspect your shoulder to look for signs of injury. This often includes checking your range of motion and feeling and pressing the soft tissues in your shoulder, also known as palpating.
When evaluating shoulder pain, an X-ray is used to view the bones in your shoulder joint. Your doctor may order an X-ray if you show signs of a fracture. X-ray technology uses electromagnetic energy beams to produce images of bones and organs and can help diagnose fractures in your shoulder.
An ultrasound is useful in diagnosing rotator cuff injuries. It uses high-frequency sound waves to view structures in the shoulder, including tendons.
Computed tomography (CT) scan uses a series of -rays to generate a 3D image of soft tissues. A CT scan provides more detail than X-rays and provides images of bones as well as soft tissues. It can be used to diagnose various types of shoulder injuries.
MRI uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce images of the soft tissues of the shoulder, including the muscles, ligaments, and cartilage. It can be used to evaluate and diagnose soft tissue injuries of the shoulder joint.
A quick and accurate diagnosis is the key to moving forward with a treatment and recovery plan to get patients feeling better and back to their lives.
If you’ve sustained a shoulder injury in an auto accident, our team can get you the care you need to recover. To get started, call 918-888-8080 to schedule a visit with Dr. Mitchell.
