Vanya Joshi specialty training year 2 radiology registrar, Thomas Osborne consultant radiologist, Demitrios Tzias consultant radiologist
Joshi V, Osborne T, Tzias D.
A case of non-traumatic shoulder pain
BMJ 2022; 376 :e052278
doi:10.1136/bmj-2019-052278
Re: A case of non-traumatic shoulder pain
Dear Editor
2 questions.
Are the authors advising we arrange an x ray of everybody with shoulder pain and does the presence of calcium make any difference to the management? We already have a paradox where as GPs we are advised against imaging shoulders and knees within the NHS but within the private sector an MRI is done universally and this leads to patients expectations.
Why do the authors advise the GP refers rather than managing themselves, including injecting the shoulder? Though there are many trials for and against the value of steroid injections into the shoulder it had always been a normal common part of a GP's work.
Competing interests: No competing interests