Understanding the Role of an Interventional Pain Specialist for Chronic Shoulder Pain

When your shoulder feels stiff every morning, or that dull ache refuses to go away despite rest and physiotherapy, it can start to affect more than just your arm. Dressing becomes uncomfortable. Reaching overhead feels restricted. Sleep is disturbed. Over time, frustration replaces hope.

Chronic shoulder pain is not something you simply have to live with. The right specialist care from shoulder pain specialist can help you understand the cause of your pain, relieve it safely, and restore confident movement.

Why Chronic Shoulder Pain Needs Specialist Attention?

Many people in Singapore begin with general treatments — rest, medication, or physiotherapy. While these are important first steps, some conditions such as frozen shoulder or complex rotator cuff injuries do not fully resolve without deeper evaluation.

One of the biggest challenges with shoulder pain is that different problems can feel similar. A dull ache may come from muscle strain, joint inflammation, or nerve irritation. Treating symptoms alone may bring temporary relief, but lasting improvement comes from identifying the real source.

An interventional shoulder pain specialist assesses the underlying causes of shoulder pain to guide appropriate treatment.

Identifying the Real Source of Your Pain

At Singapore Paincare Center, assessment begins with the Painostic® approach. Developed through years of clinical experience, this method looks beyond scans alone. It carefully studies how your pain started, how it behaves, what movements trigger it, and how it affects your daily life.

When the exact pain generator is identified:

• Treatments become more targeted
• Recovery becomes more predictable
• You avoid unnecessary procedures
• Relief feels more sustainable

Understanding the cause of pain is the first step toward meaningful improvement.

Specialist Care for Complex Shoulder Conditions

Specialist care at Singapore Paincare Center is led by Dr Bernard Lee Mun Kam, an internationally recognised consultant pain specialist with over 20 years of experience treating complex and chronic pain.

Dr Lee’s clinical background includes senior roles at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. He holds a Master of Medicine (Anaesthesiology) and is a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists.

His work focuses on minimally invasive, “knifeless” procedures designed to relieve pain while minimising disruption to patients’ lives.

This approach emphasises:

• Precision rather than extensive intervention
• Reduced tissue trauma
• Shorter recovery periods
• Preservation of natural joint movement

Minimally Invasive Options That Restore Movement

For many patients, the idea of shoulder surgery feels overwhelming. Interventional pain treatment offers a bridge between conservative care and major surgery.

Depending on your diagnosis, options may include:

Myospan® Treatment

Myospan® focuses on pain arising from muscles, tendons, ligaments, and surrounding soft tissues.

This approach may help when shoulder pain is associated with:

• Muscle tightness or spasm
• Tendon or ligament strain
• Myofascial pain patterns
• Movement-related discomfort

Targeted Myospan® injections are delivered precisely to affected structures to:

• Reduce local inflammation
• Relax tightened tissues
• Interrupt the pain cycle
• Improve shoulder mobility

By addressing soft tissue contributors to pain, many patients experience improved comfort and function.

Neurospan® Treatment

Neurospan® is designed for pain involving nerve irritation or sensitivity.

This may be considered when symptoms include:

• Sharp, burning, or radiating pain
• Pain spreading into the arm
• Tingling or altered sensation
• Nerve-related shoulder discomfort

Neurospan® treatment targets inflamed or sensitised nerves to:

• Calm nerve irritation
• Reduce abnormal pain signalling
• Improve tolerance to movement
• Support functional recovery

This is particularly relevant when shoulder pain has a neuropathic or nerve-mediated component.

Both Myospan® and Neurospan® treatments are performed using careful imaging guidance where appropriate. This enhances accuracy, safety, and treatment effectiveness by focusing only on the structures contributing to pain.

Many procedures are completed as day treatments, allowing patients to return home the same day with minimal disruption to daily routines.

 

Accessible Care in Central Singapore

To make specialist care convenient, consultations are available at Novena & Paragon

These centrally located clinics serve patients living or working around Newton, Tanglin, Balestier, and the Orchard area — so getting expert care does not add stress to your schedule.

 

When Should You See an Interventional Shoulder Pain Specialist?

Consider specialist assessment if:

• Shoulder pain lasts more than 6–12 weeks
• Stiffness continues despite physiotherapy
• Pain wakes you at night
• Movement is becoming increasingly restricted
• You want alternatives to open surgery

The earlier the root cause is identified, the sooner you can move toward meaningful relief.

Moving Forward With Confidence

Chronic shoulder pain can slowly take away comfort, independence, and confidence. But it often has a clear cause — and once identified, it can be treated with precision.

At Singapore Paincare Center, your journey begins with understanding your pain. From there, you receive a tailored, minimally invasive plan designed to restore comfort and function — so you can return to daily life with ease.

If your shoulder pain has been holding you back, the next step is clarity. And clarity is where recovery begins.