a friend of mine has been diagnosed with a shoulder impingement, says he experiences extreme soreness or pain during throws, has been doing physical therapy. He says he has not received any cortisone or anti-inflammatory drugs. Could the anti-inflammatory/cortisone shots help..possibly fix the problem? Does a shoulder impingement only heal by surgery? How long is the recovery time?

Sounds like he needs to get the opinion of a Dr. who understands these injuries.

I agree with BOF. Get him to a qualified specialist. My son was first diagnosed with shoulder impingement.
Turned out to be a torn labrum.