Anterior shoulder pain can have various causes. Many athletes have anterior shoulder pain with overhead throwing and overhead hitting sports like baseball and tennis. The three most common causes are biceps tendonitis, a labral tear, or shoulder laxity which causes increased stress on the shoulder. Each of these conditions is treated differently.
Biceps Tendonitis and increased shoulder laxity is typically treated with physical therapy.
In the case of suspicion of a labral tear, an MRI is ordered to determine the extent of the tear.
Some small tears may be treated without surgery. However, large tears and tears that involve the biceps tendon called SLAP tears may need to be treated with arthroscopic repair.
To learn more details about anterior shoulder pain check out our Patient Guides and surgical videos.
