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Calcium Deposits around the shoulder.
Calcium deposits around the shoulder are a fairly common occurrence. Frequently they do not cause problems, but if they increase in size or become inflamed, then very severe pain may result.
What is the cause of calcium deposits around the shoulder?
In most situations, there is no known cause for calcium deposits.
Do all calcium deposits cause problems?
Many calcium deposits are present for years without causing any symptoms. Only when the deposit becomes large enough to pinch between the bones when the shoulder is elevated, does it cause pain. Sometimes smaller deposits cause pain if they become acutely inflamed, especially when the calcium salts leak from the lesion into the sensitive bursal tissues.
Is the calcium deposit hard like rock?
Most early calcium deposits are very soft like toothpaste, but sometimes after being present for a long time, they do dry up and become chalk like.
What is the best treatment for a calcium deposit?
The acute inflammation can be treated with localised ice packs and rest in a sling, but oral anti-inflammatory medications are also helpful. A Cortisone injection directly into the area of calcium deposit may give relief within a few hours.
Do calcium deposits need removal?
If a patient has two or three recurrent episodes of painful symptoms in the shoulder or if the calcium deposit appears on x-ray to be enlarging, then it may be appropriate to consider arthroscopic surgery to remove it.
What is involved in arthroscopic surgery to remove calcium?
The surgery is done under a general anaesthesia. The calcium is washed out, and afterwards a mild aching sensation is usually present for a few days until the skin puncture sites heal. If the calcium erodes a hole in the rotator cuff, then decompression is necessary (removing a portion of the overhanging bone arthroscopically) and this will cause a little more discomfort for a few days.
Will calcification return once it is removed?
Very rarely it can return.
Can there be permanent damage caused by calcification?
Yes. A long term calcification may cause pressure on the rotator cuff tendon, which can damage portions of the tendon permanently.
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