If you have pain in your upper arm or shoulder, you may have irritated your biceps tendon, a condition known as biceps tendonitis. The pain may limit your shoulder motion and make performing normal work and recreational tasks difficult or impossible.
Rotator cuff tears do not heal well with time. They tend to either enlarge or, at best, stabilize in size. The good news is that rotator cuff tears do not necessarily need to heal in order for the symptoms to resolve.
Pain between the shoulder blades is often due to muscle strain, which may result from lifting heavy objects, poor posture, or overuse. Other health issues can cause upper back pain, though, including acid reflux, disc problems, gall bladder disorders, or even a heart attack.
A SLAP tear is an injury to the labrum, the cartilage rim that surrounds the socket of the shoulder joint. SLAP stands for "superior labrum anterior and posterior," meaning that the tear occurs at the front of the upper arm where the bicep tendon connects to the shoulder.1
To move your shoulder joint, the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones all have to move in a synchronized and stable pattern. Because of this, subtle abnormalities can lead to shoulder pain and discomfort when you are throwing or afterward.
