Abstract: Shoulder pain is the most commonplace injury in overhead movements. The diagnosis of shoulder pain is always a big challenge due to the complexity of shoulder anatomy and the various injury mechanisms. An accurate diagnosis of shoulder pain requires a thorough understanding of patients’ medical history. Applying the theory of embryo development and the principle of referral pain would be beneficial for sports clinicians to understand further the characteristics and the potential causes of the pain, thus improving the accuracy of the diagnosis and specificity of treatment.

Key words: Shoulder Pain, Sports Injury, Overhead Movement, Diagnosis, Referral Pain