I’m 52 and things are starting to fall apart. First I had neck pain that wouldn’t go away. I finally got rid of that, and now I have shoulder pain on the other side. Is there any way to tell if this will eventually go away too?

It’s fairly normal to have some aches and pains along the way especially in midlife and beyond. When one thing after another starts to bother you, it might be time to have a physical exam. There could be some medical condition causing your symptoms.

The doctor may be able to tell you the outcome of this new shoulder pain, too. Doctors use a guideline called Clinical Prediction Rules to help predict what might happen. Based on studies of many patients with shoulder pain, researchers have been able to find a couple factors that predict outcome.

For example, patients with neck and shoulder pain are more likely to still have shoulder pain six weeks later. Patients with back and shoulder pain together are more likely to have continued pain six months later. For the most part, intense pain of long duration at the time of a medical visit suggests a poor prognosis. The client is more likely to have symptoms longer than expected.

Other factors are also taken into consideration such as repetitive movements and psychologic problems.