LOEL Z. PAYNE, M.D.

     The shoulder complex is composed of 5 joints or articulations to the body, 30 muscles and 8 ligaments. This makes the shoulder the most complex joint in the body. To adequately treat shoulder conditions requires extensive knowledge of the shoulder structures, vast experience in treating shoulder disorders and appropriate attention to details of the patient's history and physical examination. This is what I refer to as the "art" of treating shoulder pain.

    I first became interested in shoulders over 25 years ago. The shoulder joint was just beginning to be explored with an arthroscopic. Shoulder replacements were becoming more successful. MRIs were capable of examining the interior of the shoulder soft tissues previously not seen with standard testing. Most other joints in the body were well understood by orthopaedic surgeons. However, the shoulder joint was still mysterious. There was much we did not understand about the various etiologies of shoulder pain. I have chosen to make it my career to better understand and treat shoulder disorders.

     I have had the pleasure of training under some of the best orthopaedic surgeons at Yale University and the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. I have practiced orthopaedic shoulder surgery in Tidewater Virginia since 1995.