Yet another shoulder thread...

[brizey]

On the Thursday before Memorial Day, my shoulder pain got to the point that I could not finish my workout. My parents were coming into town for the week, so I took the opportunity for some needed rest.

As of this last Monday, after ten days of basically no strenuous activity, my shoulder still was hurting a bit and still grinding and occasionally locking. So I made an appointment with a orthopedic/sports medicine doctor who's specialty is shoulder injuries.

Results:

He thinks I had a strain or very minor tear in one or more of my rotator cuff muscles. Also, I have a small bone spur on my scapula. And I have some arthritis in my AC (acromioclavicular) joint, which is unrelated to the main problem (it just feels like I have a bruise on the bony part of my shoulder sometimes). He said that when you strain a rotator cuff muscle, you often will no longer perform shoulder movements naturally, and it allows your delts and traps overpower the rotator cuff and forcefully push your humerus head into your acromium, squashing your bursa and tendons (impingement).

Treatment:

I received a cortisone injection to help with the bursitis, since I still have symptoms after two weeks of no strenuous activity. I am going to go to physical therapy next week and a few more times after that so that I can learn how to do rotator cuff exercises and stretches properly. The general idea is to make an attempt to avoid the bone spur surgery by strengthening the rotator cuff muscles and avoiding overhead exercise.

Thoughts:

I really liked the place and the doctor. They are a sports injury place with multiple orthopedic surgeons that specialize in various body parts and injuries. There was none of that "just stop lifting weights" crap. (In fact, I can start back late next week with light lifting--he wants to give the cortisone to time to be fully effective--and I can do legs with no shoulder girdle loading now). My doctor is the team doctor for a local high school football team, and they had sports related stuff throughout the facility. The physical therapist is on site, and they too are sports oriented. I got a great vibe that he understood what my expectations are (I want to get to fully functional, not just "better", and I consider being able to lift heavy weights as fully functional).

The cortisone shot did not hurt at first, but it was a little sore last night and this morning. It is already feeling better. When I asked about the downsides of cortisone shots, he said that they sometimes can make you feel better than you are, and to not think that everything is hunky dory after three or four days and the pain starts to subside completely. It takes up to ten days for full effectiveness, and even then the cortisone is just helping your body get ahead of the inflammation cycle so that it can fully heal.

[beancntr]

Sounds like you're going about it the right way. Congrats on finding a good dr and pt. Luckily I found one as well and it makes a huge difference over those "stop lifting weights and just do cardio" types.

Best of luck on quick recovery. Should issues (I have impingment issues in both my shoulders) suck!

[Headshrink]

Thanks for the info. Icing my as I write and I need to find a Doc like yours. Anyone in south Orange County, CA know of one?

[brizey]

Sounds like you're going about it the right way. Congrats on finding a good dr and pt. Luckily I found one as well and it makes a huge difference over those "stop lifting weights and just do cardio" types.

Best of luck on quick recovery. Should issues (I have impingment issues in both my shoulders) suck!

I was lucky--the place is really close to my house. In some ways, the "stop lifting weights" types are correct--it is the LEAST invasive way to avoid the problem. But notice I said "avoid", not "cure" or "fix". People tend to pull doctors in too directions--they complain about too much medical and surgical intervention, then complain when they don't really fix the problem. The best thing is to find a doctor that understands what results you want and is willing to help you get there.

[beancntr]

The best thing is to find a doctor that understands what results you want and is willing to help you get there.

Couldn't agree more.