shoulder pain

[sarah]

trying to find out why i have constant shoulder pain..the onset started almost 5yrs ago..i have had both carprel tunnels & and both ulnar nerves transfers done...still having alot of pain in shoulder(left)...as the day goes on the pain gets worse...i can't lay down flat(sleep)my arm &fingers will go numb...pain wakes me up several times anite...i can actually hear clicking &popping noises when i use my arm....once in awhile my arm will fall down on it's own& yet when the doctor does the resitance test i can do it...mri shows ...mild arthropathic spurring @the superior aspect of the left acj w/a straight type 1 acromion but no significant arthropathy or impingement....there is some heterogeneity and thicking of the distal rotator cuff tendon perhaps reflective of tendinosis but no evidence of full thickness rct tear or deltoid effusion...there is trace physiologic left shoulder joint effusion.....please help me @least understand if you are able too thanxs in advance if you can help

[Heidi]

Hi

I am sorry to hear about your problems.

Due to the symptoms of numbness you describe, a nerve entrapment sounds possible. There are several nerves which run through the shoulder an down the arm. The most commonly injured is the suprascapular nerve:
http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/shoulder/suprascapular_neuropathy.php

A lot of these injuries, including the possible rotator cuff tendonitis are often caused in part at least by postural issues and muscle imabalances. Have you ever had youer posture assessed? If not I would highly recommend it.

If the shoulders are in a forwards position with internal rotation then this can cause lots of problems, such as impingements. Symptoms related to postural problems will often show signs of improvement through stretching the chest muscles and neck muscles and starting the strengthen the scapula stabilisers. I would also recommend soft tissue treatments such as myofascial release and trigger pointing to relax the tight chest muscles and neck muscles. (If of course this is the case. A postural assessment would determine this)

I hope this info is of some help

[sarah]

hi and thanx for responding heidi,

[sarah]

i just got off the phone with my lawyer and he said something about some signal disruption in the posterior superior labrom probably area of degeneration was shown on a recent mri with contrast i had done on the 14th of feb.any clues as to what he is talking about?

[Heidi]

Possibly!

The labrum is a circular shaped peice of cartilage which surrounds the socket of the shoulder joint and helps to keep the ball part (head of the humerus) in position. As for the signal disruption bit, I am presuming he means from a nerve, so this is probably an impingement of a nerve around the labrum which is damaged.