You’ve been working around it for months. You lift with the other arm. You skip the overhead press. You’ve stopped throwing the ball with your kid because you know what your shoulder will feel like the next morning.
At some point the workaround becomes the problem. If physical therapy and cortisone injections haven’t worked, there’s a non-surgical option most shoulder patients are never offered: shoulder artery embolization.
Pain that’s limiting you now will limit you more the longer the cycle runs.
Why Chronic Shoulder Pain Gets Worse, Not Better
Most chronic shoulder pain traces back to inflammation in and around the joint. That includes rotator cuff tendinopathy, shoulder arthritis, bursitis, and adhesive capsulitis, better known as frozen shoulder. Learn more about joint pain causes, symptoms, and treatment.
When tissue in a joint stays inflamed, the body grows extra small blood vessels into the area. Those vessels feed the inflammation and carry nerve fibers along with them, which is part of why the pain persists long after the original injury should have settled down.
That’s also why rest alone often fails. The cycle is self-sustaining.
Meanwhile, the shoulder you are protecting gets stiffer, the surrounding muscles get weaker, and the other side starts compensating. Waiting is not neutral.
What to Do When Physical Therapy and Cortisone Have Run Out
Most people arrive at ECCO Medical having already tried the first line of treatment. Rest, anti-inflammatories, physical therapy, and cortisone injections are reasonable starting points, and for many patients they work.
When they don’t, the usual next conversation is about joint replacement or arthroscopic repair. For a lot of people, that’s a bigger step than they’re ready to take, and some aren’t candidates for it at all.
There is a middle option that most patients have never been told about
Shoulder Artery Embolization: How It Works
Shoulder artery embolization, or SAE, is a minimally invasive, image-guided procedure. Our interventional radiology specialists thread a catheter, a thin flexible tube, through a small nick in the skin and use real-time imaging to navigate to the abnormal vessels feeding the inflamed tissue. Tiny particles are then used to reduce blood flow to that specific area.
Less blood flow to the inflammation means less inflammation, and for many patients, less pain. The same approach is used across several stubborn musculoskeletal problems:
- Shoulder pain, including rotator cuff tendinopathy and shoulder arthritis
- Knee pain from osteoarthritis, through genicular artery embolization, or GAE
- Tendinopathy elsewhere in the body, including tennis elbow and plantar fasciitis
What makes it appealing to active patients is what it avoids. There’s no open procedure, no general anesthesia in most cases, no long course of steroids, and no opioids. Patients go home the same day and return to light activity quickly.
Results vary from person to person, and not everyone is a candidate. That’s what the consultation is for
Are You a Candidate?
Embolization tends to be worth discussing if:
- Your pain has lasted several months or longer
- Imaging or exam points to inflammation and joint or tendon degeneration
- Physical therapy, injections, and medication have not given you lasting relief
- You want to avoid or delay a larger operation
- You are not a candidate for a larger operation because of other health conditions
It’s generally not the right fit for pain that just started, or for a fresh acute injury that hasn’t been evaluated yet.
Our team will review your imaging, examine the joint, and tell you honestly whether this is likely to help you. If it’s not, we’ll say so.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does shoulder artery embolization actually work?
Published studies of shoulder embolization report meaningful pain reduction in patients whose chronic shoulder pain had not responded to conservative care. Results vary from person to person, and your physician will review whether the evidence applies to your case.
How long is recovery after SAE?
It’s an outpatient procedure. Most patients go home the same day and return to light activity within a day or two.
Am I still a candidate if I have a rotator cuff tear?
Possibly. Embolization treats the inflammation driving the pain, not the tear itself. Imaging and a consultation will determine whether it fits your situation.
How is embolization different from a cortisone injection?
A cortisone injection reduces inflammation temporarily and can only be repeated a limited number of times. Embolization targets the abnormal blood vessels feeding that inflammation, without steroids.
Is shoulder embolization covered by insurance?
Coverage varies by plan and by diagnosis. Bring it up during your consultation so it can be checked against your specific benefits.
Is shoulder pain treatment available in Lone Tree or Pueblo West?
Yes. ECCO Medical sees shoulder pain patients at both our Lone Tree and Pueblo West locations.
Let’s Talk Through Your Options
Take our Joint Pain Quiz to see whether embolization could be a fit, then bring the result to a consultation with ECCO Medical for your shoulder, knee, or elbow pain.
You can learn more about our approach on our joint pain treatment page, or reach out through our contact page.
Lone Tree: (720) 668-8818
Pueblo West: (719) 569-3226
