Dr. Charles Jobin Quoted in Reuters Health

Columbia Orthopedics Residency Program Director Charles M. Jobin, MD was recently quoted in the Reuters Health article titled “Expert panel advises against surgery for shoulder pain.” The article discussed how an international panel of clinicians, researchers, and patients built a set of guidelines that manage shoulder pain, not caused by an injury, with “some combination of physical therapy, exercise programs, anti-inflammatory drugs, and steroid injections.”

About one in 10,000 or 100,000 ends up with a nerve injury or issue. It’s exceedingly rare, but when it does occur it can be devastating. You come in because of a painful shoulder and you end up with a weak arm, a numb thumb or a pain down your arm that doesn’t go away.

Dr. Jobin, who was not involved with the panel, argued that the guidelines would discourage doctors from performing surgery but cautioned that patients still need to be informed about the potential hazards of a shoulder decompression procedure, particularly with regional anesthesia.

For more information on the panel's recommendations for shoulder pain, read the article here.

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