Shoulder problems

[Deleted User]

Anyone ever had shoulder issues? My shoulder has been bugging me for about a year now and I finally went to the doctor. He thinks it's my AC joint or rotator cuff. I have to see a specialist next month. Anyone been in my boat? If so, did you need surgery or was this fixed through exercise/PT?

danielzreyes

With all the driving I do, my left shoulder has been bothering me for a few months now. Mine is more my shoulder blade. I really need to get it checked out.

Poopy_Jones

I had a strain on my right rotator cuff about 6 weeks ago. I got a cortisone shot and some physical therapy. I feel much better now. I do miss taking Percoset for pain because it makes watching Family Guy that much funnier

jlmarta

Based on MRI's I've had, I have a full tear and a partial tear of my right rotator cuff. About 4 years ago, my orthopedic doctor gave me a shot of cortisone in the right shoulder. I've had no problems since. He told me the cortisone was to alleviate the inflammation in the shoulder. Once tha inflammation is gone the pain is also gone. So far, he's been totally correct.

Bigshizza

My left shoulder is killing me and I think it's the AC joint but, I'm trying to get my arthritic back fixed first before I bother him with the other issue...

Amos_Umwhat

I'm entering my 4th week after shoulder surgery, right now. Three labral tears, rotator cuff torn, supraspinatus and sub spinatus muscles had seperated from the bone, and are now sewn down the the bone with "anchors". The cartilage was completely worn off the gleno-humeral head (ball joint).

How old are you? How long has this been going on? What is your current range of motion? Have you had an MRI yet? X-rays show a little, MRI shows the whole story. I started getting injections some years ago, worked for awhile. Many times shoulder problems can be worked through with physical therapy, usually intense and lengthy, but putting off surgery for years. There's no telling how many years some parts of mine were torn. Eventually, if you keep pushing it, they tear more, until there's no choice but to go in and do something.

You need to see an orthopedist, for sure. Get an MRI, try the injections and PT first. Many people are going to tell you: "Rotator cuff surgery is the most painful surgery you can have."

It's not. It is painful, but it's only maybe 30% of the pain of a total knee replacement, I know!

Good luck, if you've any questions feel free to ask here, or PM me.

[Deleted User]

I'm 42 and have had pain in my left shoulder for about a year. Finally decided to see my doc last week. No MRI yet but my doc referred me to a Sports Medicine doc for an appointment. X-ray says everything is normal (I assume he was only looking for breaks, which I definitely don't have.

My range of motion was decent until yesterday when I lifted some equipment above my waste. Now it's gotten a lot worse. The worst range of motion is straight up, behind my back, and the most painful is basically scratching my right deltoid with my left hand (hope that makes sense). In that direction I can only go about an inch before the pain convinces me to stop. I have pain everywhere on my shouder (front,back, side and it feels like the muscle and joints hurt) no matter what I do. I'm pretty decent with pain as I take nothing now and won't unless it's prescribed. Even then, I will take as little as possible. Thanks for info and I hope you and everyone else gets fixed up and healthy again.

Martel

I have some missing connective tissue in my shoulder, but it's a congenital kind of thing. Hardly ever notice it, except it cracks and creaks a lot, and gets sore if I lay on it too long.

My wife just experienced a manipulation under sedation for frozen shoulder. PT 3 times a week at $30 bucks a pop, after a full week of PT adds up! At least they told us how much the bill was going to be up front! That hurts more than the stretches I help her do.

Sorry, off topic.

Her pain was manageable. They wanted her to use hydrocodone, but she doesn't react well to that so she stuck with Aleve after the first day.

Toombes

I injured my right shoulder on Christmas Eve. After fighting with workers comp, what a nightmare..., the MRI showed a rotator cuff tear, a labral tear, 4 cysts in the joint and a huge bone spur. My ortho sent me to PT for 4 weeks, which helped alleviate most of the pain and improve my range of motion. Now, after being back on the ambulance for a few months, the pain has returned and my range of motion is shot all to Hell... I'm probably looking at cortisone injections or surgery after I return from vacation.
When I saw my ortho after having the MRI, he wanted me on the table that afternoon. I explained to him that I'm a paramedic, father of a small child, drummer, bass guitarist, guitarist, tattooist, body piercer and bike builder. My wife is a PTA, so I know the recovery process after surgery and that he wasn't going to take my livelihood away from me. So, to that effect, I'll grit my teeh, take my meds and soldier on until I can find a viable option.

Bombay

James, I started doing crossfit about 2/3 months ago and was bothered by alot of the excercises they had us doing, as the shoulders are heavily involved in a lot of the lifts. There is a book out called the "Supple Leopard" I hear is great for mobility and stretching. The other two pretty cheap ways to alleviate any shoulder pain is with a lacrosse ball ($2 at Sports Authority) and PVC pipe/Broom Stick. Lay on your back on top of the Lacrosse ball and use your body weight to move it around near your shoulder blades releasing some of the back muscles attached to your shoulder. Grip PVC pipe little further than shoulder with apart and move it up over your head in front of you and towards your back not bending your elbows and bring it back over your head, seriously opens up your joints and muscles. You should be able to move the stick from in front of you over your head towards your lower back wihtout losing grip. Too easy: move your hands closer to center on stick. Too Hard: widen your grip on stick. Lastly and not cheap, for some depending on medical coverage, chiropractic help. I see one once every 6 weeks to make sure I am aligned. I always sleep better after appts. as well and since I am a side sleeper this is huge.

Amos_Umwhat

Toombes:

I injured my right shoulder on Christmas Eve. After fighting with workers comp, what a nightmare..., the MRI showed a rotator cuff tear, a labral tear, 4 cysts in the joint and a huge bone spur. My ortho sent me to PT for 4 weeks, which helped alleviate most of the pain and improve my range of motion. Now, after being back on the ambulance for a few months, the pain has returned and my range of motion is shot all to Hell... I'm probably looking at cortisone injections or surgery after I return from vacation.
When I saw my ortho after having the MRI, he wanted me on the table that afternoon. I explained to him that I'm a paramedic, father of a small child, drummer, bass guitarist, guitarist, tattooist, body piercer and bike builder. My wife is a PTA, so I know the recovery process after surgery and that he wasn't going to take my livelihood away from me. So, to that effect, I'll grit my teeh, take my meds and soldier on until I can find a viable option.

You are exactly where I was about 5 - 6 years ago. Keep it moving! That helps. For all considering surgery, it is a Looong recovery period. It takes a long time for the cartilage to heal, 4 months at least. Toombes, you, like me, know what it is to be called on to lift persons weighing in excess of 500 lbs. How do they get that way? Very sad, but dangerous for the health care workers.

Amos_Umwhat

james40:

I'm 42 and have had pain in my left shoulder for about a year. Finally decided to see my doc last week. No MRI yet but my doc referred me to a Sports Medicine doc for an appointment. X-ray says everything is normal (I assume he was only looking for breaks, which I definitely don't have.

My range of motion was decent until yesterday when I lifted some equipment above my waste. Now it's gotten a lot worse. The worst range of motion is straight up, behind my back, and the most painful is basically scratching my right deltoid with my left hand (hope that makes sense). In that direction I can only go about an inch before the pain convinces me to stop. I have pain everywhere on my shouder (front,back, side and it feels like the muscle and joints hurt) no matter what I do. I'm pretty decent with pain as I take nothing now and won't unless it's prescribed. Even then, I will take as little as possible. Thanks for info and I hope you and everyone else gets fixed up and healthy again.

If there isn't a reason not to, I'd suggest starting some naproxyn or ibuprofen. I LOVED naprosyn for years, 'til I found out it drove my blood pressure up into the 220/120 range, and I started bleeding in my intestines. Don't expect total relief right away, as it takes a couple weeks of whichever of these you chose for the inflammation to subside, after which life is much better and you can concentrate on range of motion. Tylenol won't help much, as it doesn't solve the problem, just masks the pain. There are also several prescriptions anti-inflammatories. For me, all of these seem to work about the same, but some folks get better results out of one or another.

A friend of mine, a doctor, swears by Celebrex, probably couldn't raise his arms at all without it, and has had a few surgeries already, only step left is total replacement, which he's not into, yet.

For many folks, the final straw seems to be when they can no longer sleep in the bed, but have to sleep sitting up in an easy chair. Can't lay on the shoulder, laying on the other side doesn't help either, but sitting up is often a relief.

[Deleted User]

Thanks to you all for the tips and suggestions, I appreciate it. Before yesterday, I think I could have worked on range of motion. I'm just worried about long term exposure to Ibu and Naproxyn. I'm going to see if I can tough it out until my appointment. Thanks again and I do hope you all get recovered as well.

Seems like I'm just falling apart sometimes...

Amos_Umwhat

james40:

Thanks to you all for the tips and suggestions, I appreciate it. Before yesterday, I think I could have worked on range of motion. I'm just worried about long term exposure to Ibu and Naproxyn. I'm going to see if I can tough it out until my appointment. Thanks again and I do hope you all get recovered as well.

Seems like I'm just falling apart sometimes...

Valid fears. Ice is good! for about 15 minutes or so, Heat feels good, and won't hurt you in oh, say, 10 minute intervals a couple times a day.

kaspera79

A couple years ago I had a condition known as Adhesive Capsulitis.. (frozen shoulder). The movement was so restricted and painful I was certain is was a torn rotator cuff. An MRI proved otherwise. Saw a specialist who gave me a cortisone injection, and many weeks of physical therapy. It's like it never happened now.

Rhamlin

My shoulder is shot. I've never had it looked at since it more or less quit bothering me once I stopped my old job. Used to be every time I move my arm around it sounded like gears grinding. Hope you can get it fixed without to much trouble.

catfishbluezz

I have all sorts of joint issues.... Shoulder is one of them. Best thing I ever did was start taking Super Cissus. It was recommended by my old boss who is a workout freak and wrecked his shoulder in a bike wreck. Honestly, as I'm writing this, my ankles, toes, and elbows are jacked because my dumbass quit taking it the last week or so since I've been on break. I can't remember the last time my range of motion was whack on my shoulder, but I've been taking this stuff for about 3 years and if I stop, it's pretty hard to move without 800mg of ibuprofen.

rzaman

Hi James, I had the same issue but it is gone with a Tempur-pedic pillow. Here is the link: http://www.tempurpedic.ca/Contoured-Pillows/Tempur-Pedic-TEMPUR-Side-Pillow.asp

james40:

Anyone ever had shoulder issues? My shoulder has been bugging me for about a year now and I finally went to the doctor. He thinks it's my AC joint or rotator cuff. I have to see a specialist next month. Anyone been in my boat? If so, did you need surgery or was this fixed through exercise/PT?

Amos_Umwhat

rzaman:

Hi James, I had the same issue but it is gone with a Tempur-pedic pillow. Here is the link: http://www.tempurpedic.ca/Contoured-Pillows/Tempur-Pedic-TEMPUR-Side-Pillow.asp

james40:

Anyone ever had shoulder issues? My shoulder has been bugging me for about a year now and I finally went to the doctor. He thinks it's my AC joint or rotator cuff. I have to see a specialist next month. Anyone been in my boat? If so, did you need surgery or was this fixed through exercise/PT?

I've been using the tempurpedic for a couple years now. They do help, considerably. They are ridiculously expensive, heavy too. I told my wife "This is going to be like sleeping with a dead body". They helped my shoulder, though, and her back, so we're believers. Money well spent.

Amos_Umwhat

James, how's the shoulder doing?

[Deleted User]

Thanks for asking Amos, means a lot. It's off and on but I think I figured out what tweaks it. Right now, I just have the pain from the lump, which I assume are bone spurs. This doesn't really hurt and more of a nagging thing. How are you doing?

Amos_Umwhat

james40:

Thanks for asking Amos, means a lot. It's off and on but I think I figured out what tweaks it. Right now, I just have the pain from the lump, which I assume are bone spurs. This doesn't really hurt and more of a nagging thing. How are you doing?

I'm better every day. Can type with both hands again, even reach out and open the door, if I'm standing close. Time to start making sure the Electra Glide is road ready before too much longer. Going just a little crazy in that dpt. I had several "lumps", bone spurs, cysts, and one was the swelling where the muscle had separated from the bone. Good luck.

[Deleted User]

Awesome, good to hear things are looking up. It sounds like you and the rest who posted have some serious shoulder problems. I'm hoping to get my permit and then license soon. Problem is I can't decide on what bike as I like all of them. Who am I kidding though, I have tuition to pay for and honestly I'm a little nervous about riding around with clueless drivers.