Skip to content

Conditions Subacromial bursitis

Conditions we treat

Subacromial bursitis

Inflammation of the cushion-like bursa under the shoulder roof — pain when reaching overhead and difficulty lying on the affected side.

Shoulder

What it feels like

You will usually feel this deep in the shoulder, especially when you reach overhead, lift, or roll onto that side at night. It can ache from the front of the shoulder down into the upper arm, and reaching behind your back may catch sharply. Sleep is often the first thing it disrupts.

How we approach it at our clinic

Wherever possible, we start with the least invasive option that has good evidence — and we use live image guidance (ultrasound or fluoroscopy) for any injection so the medication goes exactly where it needs to. Many of the procedures we offer for this condition are OHIP-covered when ordered for an appropriate clinical reason; we will be straight with you about what is and what is not before you book.

Procedures

Procedures we use for Subacromial bursitis

These are the procedures we most commonly use for the shoulder area. The right one depends on your imaging, history, and what has helped before.

Cortisone Joint Injection

✓ OHIP

A steroid injection placed directly into a joint to settle arthritis pain or inflammation. Works for shoulders, knees, hips, elbows, wrists, ankles, and the smaller joints of the fingers and toes.

Hyaluronic Acid Injection

Not OHIP

A gel-like injection that supplements the natural lubricant in your joint. Often used for knee or hip arthritis when steroid injections have stopped giving you the relief they used to.

Peripheral Nerve Block Injection

✓ OHIP

An injection that targets a specific nerve outside the spine — for example, the occipital nerve at the base of the skull, or the suprascapular nerve at the shoulder. Calms the nerve that is feeding your pain.

Platelet Lysate Injection

Not OHIP

A regenerative injection using a processed form of your own platelets in which the healing growth factors are released up front. We typically consider this for nerve-related and tendon pain where a gentler regenerative option is preferred.

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) — Shoulder

Not OHIP

A regenerative injection that uses the healing factors from your own blood to settle shoulder pain. We typically offer this for rotator-cuff tendinopathy or stubborn shoulder tendon pain when other injections have lost their effect.

Trigger Point Injection

✓ OHIP

A small injection of local anaesthetic into the tight, painful muscle knots that come with myofascial pain. Releases the muscle on the spot, easing tension and referred pain.

Browse all procedures for the shoulder area →

When to call us

If Subacromial bursitis has been getting in the way for more than a few weeks, ask your family doctor for a referral. We will take it from there.

Submit a referral Call us