Question: I have muscle spasms under my left shoulder. It’s very painful. I have high blood pressure. How do I treat this condition?

Dr. Hibberd's Answer:

Shoulder discomfort may be from many serious conditions:
• Arthritis, bursitis, tendonitis, or myositis.
• Injury to the area.
• Problems in your neck involving nerve root irritation (such as disc disease or spinal condition).
• Referred cardiac pain, where chest pain is absent but poor blood supply (risk for heart attack) to the heart is reflected as pain in your shoulder.
• Lung lesions occasionally manifest with shoulder pain alone.
You need to go see your primary care physician for evaluation.

Treatment will depend upon the source of your discomfort. There is no place for "shotgun" therapy here.