Any hope for my shoulder?

[esther moncrieff]

Hello,
I am 38 yrs.I came off my bike about 5 years ago and landed on right shoulder, excruciating but it was fine after couple months( no mri or xray.) 2 years ago re-injured it....took 6 months to heal.......then through inexperience/ stupidity re-injured doing dishwashing job ....Now it has healed to the point where I can have limited activity , it feels "loser" than left shoulder, pain is bearable but I cannot do anything sporty (I used to teach African Dance and travelled to Africa to learn.... a hobby not professional capacity) cannot swim at all it just gets sore, can do light housework but nothing heavier or it causes pain and i have to rest it. Had Mri in Canada 4 months ago ; results said unremarkable.Also had MRI in UK in March which was largely normal except for some narrowing of sub acromial space (down to 5mm at narrowest point) and some minor tendinopathic signal change within the distal supraspinatus tendon but no definite tear.The Uk opinion on report by specialist was that if there was ongoing concern w/ instability following ortho opinion that an MR arthogram may add further info.Have seen two orthopedists in Nanaimo BC where I live now.One said he wouldnt operate because he would make it too tight or too loose.Other was no help...What to do now ???!! Would like to have less pain.Am currently trying to strengthen it..again.....Esther..... thanks for feedback !!!

[Heidi]

Did you have any treatment/rehab when you first injured it?
From what was found on the MRI scans, I would agree that surgery should be a last resort as minor narrowing and tendonitis isn't worth the upheaval of surgery.
Make sure you get a good rehab programme written for you and really stick to it.
Did you get any soft tissue treatment as well?

[kmikes]

I am not a doctor, and I did not stay at a holiday inn last night, But I made a new post, new here. My Dr. gave me a copy of Shoulder Owners Manual, I do not see a free version online, so Ask your Dr. for a copy. Learning what to do and what not to do to avoid pain, is not to hard, but I think giving up swimming is too much. They had some good exercises, Tai Chi might be really good for you!

[esther moncrieff]

Hello........No I had no treatment when I injured it although I did go straight to outpatients at the hospital....I just rested it. Now I have devised my rehab with a theraband and am doing 3 sets of 10 reps of 6 different motions and doing it 3 times a day. and including a particular one that my chiropracter reccommends.......My weak point is if i put my arm out to the front and some one pushes down on it then it hurts and is weak.I have been strengthening now for nearly one month and am refraining from swimming completely at present.When you mention soft tissue treatment do you mean massage? Thankyou for your kind replies.

[Jdeelfc]

Hi Esther,
May I ask what type of pain it is? and when it occurs?

Reason I ask is that I also have a similar issue. I have always had issues with my right shoulder but in the summer I hurt it playing Golf, but it was not an instant pain like yours. Mine started to hurt after I finished playing.

The pain I have is like a sharp ache that comes and goes and changes in severity. I cant lie on my right side. I cant really put my finger on the location of the pain neither which makes it even harder to diagnose. I have been to doctors and physio and they both scratch their heads. Have not had any diagnostics.

Physio is now thinking it may be referred pain from my neck but I am unsure. The pain increases with exercise but its not instant pain.

Let me know.

Also, Heidi, would you suggest starting a new thread for my issue or continuing with Esthers thread?

Joe

[jjohnson]

[QUOTE=esther moncrieff;6156]Hello........No I had no treatment when I injured it although I did go straight to outpatients at the hospital....I just rested it. Now I have devised my rehab with a theraband and am doing 3 sets of 10 reps of 6 different motions and doing it 3 times a day. and including a particular one that my chiropracter reccommends.......My weak point is if i put my arm out to the front and some one pushes down on it then it hurts and is weak.I have been strengthening now for nearly one month and am refraining from swimming completely at present.When you mention soft tissue treatment do you mean massage? Thankyou for your kind replies.[/QUOTE]

My first thought on your rehabilitation program is that it is too frequent and probably too much. Adaptation to exercise tends to occur during the rest period. If you do not give your shoulder muscles time to rest then they tend to maladapt. In fact, you can cause additional damage by doing these too much. Make sure you know why you are doing each exercise since they tend to utilize different muscles. So you should know why you are doing them and address those that relate you your problem. You need a day of rest between each training day.

[Heidi]

I agree with jjohnson - you are probably doing a bit too much and should be doing ebery other day to start with and building gradually.

Jdeelfc - carry on with ths one, that's fine.
It could be referred pain from the neck - have you had any stiffness or decrease in movement there, or tenderness in the neck muscles?
Did either the Physio or Doctor give you any treatment or exercises?

[Jdeelfc]

[QUOTE=Heidi;6312]I agree with jjohnson - you are probably doing a bit too much and should be doing ebery other day to start with and building gradually.

Jdeelfc - carry on with ths one, that's fine.
It could be referred pain from the neck - have you had any stiffness or decrease in movement there, or tenderness in the neck muscles?
Did either the Physio or Doctor give you any treatment or exercises?[/QUOTE]

Hi Heidi,
Yes, I do suffer from neck problems. I get a sore neck when looking down reading within 60 seconds. I also get unexplained dizziness when looking in certain directions. I think this could be BPPV in my ears but I am unsure.
Neck muscles are a constantly a little tender and when I press them sometimes I get a pain up the back of my head.
The physician is quite new and I guess still learning but I am sure he is not sure what the issue is. He has mentioned nerves, muscles, spine etc but with no definitive area. He is doing nerve exercises where I lie on my back, put my arms by my side and then put my forearm up and bend my hand back and then he pulls my arm out to the side. Not very well explained but you might get it.
I cant lie on my shoulder because the ache gradually increases until im in agony. I also cannot really carry anything heavy on that arm neither as the weight pulling down makes it ache.
He has given me a few exercises, mainly stretches and one nerve one where I put my arm out to the side, palm up and then point my hand down and then bring my hand to may neck and so on.

Thanks!

Joe

[Heidi]

Ahh ok. Well if you are doing nerve stretch exercises then I think your Doctor does think there is a nerve involvement so that's good. Making sure all bases are covered!