What may increase your risk for problems from your shoulder symptoms?

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What may increase your risk for problems from your shoulder symptoms?

Many conditions, lifestyle choices, medicines, and diseases interfere with your ability to heal or fight infection. You may be at risk for a more serious problem from your symptoms if you have any of the following. Be sure to tell your doctor.

Conditions

• A problem or condition present since birth (congenital defect)
• Previous neck or shoulder injury
• Previous surgery to shoulder area
• A problem somewhere else in the body that might cause pain in the shoulder (referred pain)
• History of heart attack (myocardial infarction)

Lifestyle choices

• A job or hobby that requires you to work with your arms raised over your head
• Alcohol abuse or withdrawal
• Drug abuse or withdrawal
• Smoking or other tobacco use

Medicines

• Blood-thinning medicines, such as warfarin, heparin, and aspirin
• Chemotherapy or radiation therapy
• Corticosteroids, such as prednisone
• Medicines to prevent organ transplant rejection

Diseases

• Cancer
• Cervical arthritis or cervical disc disease
• Diabetes
• Gout
• Heart disease
• Hemophilia
• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
• Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)
• Infectious arthritis
• Inherited bone disease
• Kidney disease
• Lupus
• Lyme disease
• Malnutrition or an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia
• Multiple sclerosis
• Osteoarthritis
• Osteomyelitis
• Osteoporosis
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Scleroderma
• Septic bursitis

Credits

Last updated:	September 24, 2007
Author:	Jan Nissl, RN, BS
Reviewed By:	William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine, H. Michael O'Connor, MD - Emergency Medicine
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Tracy Landauer