MRI on shoulder, if you've ever had one read this.

[injured44]

are you still lifting/ doing stenuous activities

if so this could be why its lasted so long..

[rampagefc77]

i work in mri at a hospital. first of all... your doctor wasnt the one reading the films, it was a radiologist (aka someone who ONLY reads films and is incredibly talented at doing this). Yes, mri's dont detect everything. Im surprised they didnt do an arthrogram, maybe the symptoms u presented to your doctor made him think it was something else with the shoulder, but with or without the dye the accuracy is still very high. I know how frustrating it can be, im headin in for my third knee surgery on tuesday, and the only thing they saw on my last 2 mris were "an abnormality of the medial cartilage, with no clear tear" tho ive had the symptoms of a tear for about 2 years, and ive had 2 tears before so i kno how it feels. like people have said be persistant, but dont expect 100% accuracy with any picture

[TheWatcher]

I have tried weeks of straight rest and this made my shoulder feel even worse. lately I've just been lifting lighter weights a lot slower and more controlled (really trying to feel the muscle contract, and flexing at the top of each rep) with shorter rest periods between sets (about 30 seconds to a minute). I have to use lighter weight obviously but it still feels pretty good working out, I get a mad pump and some good soreness the next few days too. My shoulder doesn't feel too bad lately, I won't try and lift anything really heavy with it and I never really notice any pain or disfunction with it until I either use it a lot of weight or do something stupid with it. Right now for chest I do one armed pushups sort of, but instead of just using one arm I have the other arm holding on to something to keep my balance. I'll do wide grip pushups on Blast Straps, and I started doing weighted pushups (filled a backpack with weight) with my feet elevated to try and hit upper chest more the other day and had my hands on those pushup bar things, those felt pretty good. I have this tension band thing where I imitate a cable fly movement. I can do handstand pushups for shoulders, lateral raises, rear raises. Back I do barbell and dumbbell rows, pullups. I don't seem to notice too much problems when I take a wide grip and don't go down all the way to my chest with the pushups. I changed a lot of the stuff to my workouts basically and my shoulder has thanked me for it. I still do rehab. exercises for it after my upper body workouts (monday and friday), I still want to meet up with an ortho.surgeon that deals with alot of shoulders and want to get a contrast MRI or arthroscope done to try and find out what's wrong exactly. I may still need surgery I guess if I ever want to full range press pretty heavy again but hopefully my shoulder keeps on improving and I won't need surgery but only time will tell with that.

[Nainoa]

My doctor is a sports medicine specialist and even he doesn't usually read MRIs himself...

If you have a suspected labral tear you MUST have it done with a contrasting dye. (MRI w/arthrogram... the dye is called gadolinium)

An MRI without arthrogram sucks at detecting labral tears.

With the recent development of contrast dye used to look at cartilage there is a difference between MRI w/ contrast and MRI w/arthroscopic contrast.

MAKE SURE you get an MRI w/ arthrogram. w/o arthrogram the accuracy is crap. (although still good for rotator cuff tears and such, just not the labrum)

Go see a shoulder specialist... or physician that specializes in sports injuries.

-Good Luck

^^^^^


Damn straight...

The MRI-Arthrogram, while a the closest thing I've experienced to a Man-Rape level of trauma... Is absolutely necessary to detect a SLAP lesion.

And you'll need an ortho or a physio to examine it.

[BradleyS]

ortho did not realize my shoulder was torn in the front, he could not see that on the images...I looked myself and couldnt see it either.

Tear from 6-9, and an incredibly painful one at 4-5....and this is my good shoulder

edit it was an mri w arthorgram

[TheWatcher]

Update with this. Well basically both of my shoulders are messed up right now. The left one started giving me problems a few months ago and it pops whenever I extend it, then it will feel tender and sore for a while after that, I never raise my left arm higher than my head anymore. Hell, I hardly use my left arm anymore period. The right one is still messed up, general achy feeling with it but it is a lot better than my left, doesn't feel as loose as it used to but it definitely doesn't feel right either.

I have lost a lot of size and strength from not being able to lift any decently heavy weights, my avatar pic is when I was close to my prime, right now, I'd say I'm about 203 lbs, 17 % bodyfat or so, which isn't bad, but is a far cry from what I was about a year ago this time (220 lbs, 14% bodyfat.) I'm not gonna lie, it really sucks when people that you know that haven't seen you in a while come up and ask you if you stopped working out and that you look smaller. My clothes all fit differently now. Alright I'm gonna stop before I get more pissed off lol.

I still haven't had a chance to go to an orthopedic doctor, which is stupid of me but yeah. I really plan on going within the next few weeks once this semester is over.

I need an MRI arthogram w/dye injection on my left shoulder and want to get it fixed up ASAP. I'm assuming it is a SLAP tear and/or Bankart tear, plus the capsule may be stretched.

Same deal with the right shoulder that I injured originally, but not as bad.

I want to get the left one fixed first because I can still use my right arm for everyday tasks, my left one , that's out of the question as it will pop and get aggravated. Then after the left one heals, get the right one fixed. Following this, I will start my long road to recovery and hopefully return back to my old size and strength. I will definitely take it real slow though, and not go under like 12 reps for any pressing exercises for a while.

Some things I may not have mentioned earlier: I have had both shoulder subluxate (partially dislocate) a few times , the right one I'd say about 7 times, the left, maybe 4 or 5. These happened a long time ago when I was playing Football for my old high school mostly. The last time I had a subluxation was in July of 2005 with my right shoulder, it hurt for a day but never bothered my lifting until more than a year later.

One more thing, I am very flexible, I can touch the back of my hands to the floor without bending my knees, and most of the joints in my body can bend a lot more than they should, they call this Hypermobility. I'm pretty sure that may have something to do with my shoulder problems.

[AutumnalPark]

Shoulder instability doesn't eman you have a SLAP lesion.

The test where you hold your arm out in front thumb down and push on the arm is positive and painful if there is a problem with the supraspinatus tendon.

Sounds like you have an instablility/impingement problem, not a SLAP, and there is rehab that can address the issue.

[BradleyS]

Update with this. Well basically both of my shoulders are messed up right now. The left one started giving me problems a few months ago and it pops whenever I extend it, then it will feel tender and sore for a while after that, I never raise my left arm higher than my head anymore. Hell, I hardly use my left arm anymore period. The right one is still messed up, general achy feeling with it but it is a lot better than my left, doesn't feel as loose as it used to but it definitely doesn't feel right either.

I have lost a lot of size and strength from not being able to lift any decently heavy weights, my avatar pic is when I was close to my prime, right now, I'd say I'm about 203 lbs, 17 % bodyfat or so, which isn't bad, but is a far cry from what I was about a year ago this time (220 lbs, 14% bodyfat.) I'm not gonna lie, it really sucks when people that you know that haven't seen you in a while come up and ask you if you stopped working out and that you look smaller. My clothes all fit differently now. Alright I'm gonna stop before I get more pissed off lol.

I still haven't had a chance to go to an orthopedic doctor, which is stupid of me but yeah. I really plan on going within the next few weeks once this semester is over.

I need an MRI arthogram w/dye injection on my left shoulder and want to get it fixed up ASAP. I'm assuming it is a SLAP tear and/or Bankart tear, plus the capsule may be stretched.

Same deal with the right shoulder that I injured originally, but not as bad.

I want to get the left one fixed first because I can still use my right arm for everyday tasks, my left one , that's out of the question as it will pop and get aggravated. Then after the left one heals, get the right one fixed. Following this, I will start my long road to recovery and hopefully return back to my old size and strength. I will definitely take it real slow though, and not go under like 12 reps for any pressing exercises for a while.

Some things I may not have mentioned earlier: I have had both shoulder subluxate (partially dislocate) a few times , the right one I'd say about 7 times, the left, maybe 4 or 5. These happened a long time ago when I was playing Football for my old high school mostly. The last time I had a subluxation was in July of 2005 with my right shoulder, it hurt for a day but never bothered my lifting until more than a year later.

One more thing, I am very flexible, I can touch the back of my hands to the floor without bending my knees, and most of the joints in my body can bend a lot more than they should, they call this Hypermobility. I'm pretty sure that may have something to do with my shoulder problems.

I have loose joints aswell.

what sucks about subluxations is once you have one, you'll have more...I hated them. pulling up a sock would cause my shoulder to do that.

Fix them now before they get worse...trust me. it's not fun when they are torn to hell.

[warbird00]

Dude my shoulder has been ****ed for 4 months now. I went to a sports doctor about 2 months ago and he gave me exercises to do, told me to correct my posture but it hasnt got better. It sucks not being able to do ANY presses

[benztof]

You never mentioned what actually caused the injury and the exact symptoms you feel.. i've had a shoulder problem for 6 months as well and can't seem to find the exact problem... an MRI showed tendonitis of the rotator cuff and mild subcuracoid bursitis.. i've rested it, iced it, heated it... and nothing seems to make it better... i have not felt close to 100% for a while now.. you are right.. it sucks when friends ask you if your vaginitis has cleared up or if i'm ever coming back to the gym.... my symptoms are basically a dull ache that radiates anywhere from my upper triceps to the back shoulder... something feels messed up back there but nobody can figure it out.... i don't get pain when they do shoulder tests so they have ruled out any tears... and the MRI confirmed that there was not a tear..... I am currently seeing a massage therapist and a chiro.. ill basically try anything now..

[heidt410]

Seems like you got the advice you needed...to see an ortho surgeon who spec in shoulders.

Goodluck

[ers124]

You deffinately need to do whatever it takes to get an MRI with dye injected. I've had the same problem as you, my shoulders been messed up for about a year. I havent been able to do any presses at all, but all my doctor said was to try physical therapy.

Fast forward six months after PT - I go to a new doctor, get an MRI, and ... surprise, surprise... worst SLAP tear hes ever seen. I'm getting surgery in a month. Anyways it seems that youre in the same boat as me, so I suggest you go somewhere that will get you the MRI with dye that you need. Good luck.

[Frantec]

A point that needs to be kept in mind is that experiencing such significant injuries of the shoulders at such a young age is not a good sign for the future! It could result in osteoarthritic changes and chronic pain as one ages with significant limitations in the physical activities they can engage in. That is why it is very important to seek out appropriate and timely medical intervention in order to attempt to manage the degree and extent of the damage to the shoulders and to rehabilitate the injury expeditiously.

[TheWatcher]

Shoulder instability doesn't eman you have a SLAP lesion.

The test where you hold your arm out in front thumb down and push on the arm is positive and painful if there is a problem with the supraspinatus tendon.

Sounds like you have an instablility/impingement problem, not a SLAP, and there is rehab that can address the issue.

are you sure?, a team of phys. therapists that I was working with said that the test, if positive, may indicate a SLAP tear.

I have loose joints aswell.

what sucks about subluxations is once you have one, you'll have more...I hated them. pulling up a sock would cause my shoulder to do that.

Fix them now before they get worse...trust me. it's not fun when they are torn to hell.

Tell me about it man. The weird thing was how they didn't bother me after they would subluxate, it's just like they all of a sudden started hurting after I was lifting for a while. My first subluxation happened on my right shoulder when I was 14 during my first high school Football game, didn't give me problems with lifting until I was 21, even though both the left and right one subluxated a few times after that. pretty much the same deal with my left, no problems until I was 21.

Dude my shoulder has been ****ed for 4 months now. I went to a sports doctor about 2 months ago and he gave me exercises to do, told me to correct my posture but it hasnt got better. It sucks not being able to do ANY presses

Did you get an MRI arthrogram on it yet?

You never mentioned what actually caused the injury and the exact symptoms you feel.. i've had a shoulder problem for 6 months as well and can't seem to find the exact problem... an MRI showed tendonitis of the rotator cuff and mild subcuracoid bursitis.. i've rested it, iced it, heated it... and nothing seems to make it better... i have not felt close to 100% for a while now.. you are right.. it sucks when friends ask you if your vaginitis has cleared up or if i'm ever coming back to the gym.... my symptoms are basically a dull ache that radiates anywhere from my upper triceps to the back shoulder... something feels messed up back there but nobody can figure it out.... i don't get pain when they do shoulder tests so they have ruled out any tears... and the MRI confirmed that there was not a tear..... I am currently seeing a massage therapist and a chiro.. ill basically try anything now..

I've tried chiro, active release, rest, phys. therapy, light weights, massage, heat, ice, all that stuff. None of it worked in my case, get an MRI with dye injection, if you have already and it showed just the problems listed, see if you can get an arthroscopy, just to look around in the joint, if they see something wrong they can operate. If your shoulder has been in pain for 6 months, I doubt it is just from rotator cuff tendonitis, doctors always say that it's tendonitis, I told my doctor my shoulder feels loose and catches , he told me it was tendonitis lol. DON"T BOTHER WITH GENERAL DOCTORS WITH JOINT INJURIES! Go to an orthopedic or sports medicine doctor or something.

Seems like you got the advice you needed...to see an ortho surgeon who spec in shoulders.

Goodluck

Thanks, I will be soon.

You deffinately need to do whatever it takes to get an MRI with dye injected. I've had the same problem as you, my shoulders been messed up for about a year. I havent been able to do any presses at all, but all my doctor said was to try physical therapy.

Fast forward six months after PT - I go to a new doctor, get an MRI, and ... surprise, surprise... worst SLAP tear hes ever seen. I'm getting surgery in a month. Anyways it seems that youre in the same boat as me, so I suggest you go somewhere that will get you the MRI with dye that you need. Good luck.

Yeah man , physical therapy may help if it's a rotator cuff issue, but problems with the capsule and labrum of the shoulder don't really clear up without surgical intervention, that's what it seems like anyway. If you're under age 30 I think, if you ever dislocate a shoulder, the recurrence rate is extremely high (like 80-95%), unless you get it fixed up.

[j_neatherlin]

I just had one on Tuesday, dr. says (he's a general dr. by the way, not a shoulder specialist) that nothing appears to be torn,and that it looks like the tendons are just aggravated.

This is such bull**** if the tendons were just aggravated I wouldn't have major shoulder instability and the symptoms of a possible labral/s.l.a.p. tear for the past 6 months with no improvement. I'm so f*cking frustrated right now as I don't know what to do. I've been living with this pain for 6 months and I want to know exactly what's wrong and get it fixed. I know that there's a lot more damage than just some "tendon aggravation"

The MRI they didn't inject the shoulder with any solution which maybe made it not accurate enough? I don't know. I'm probably going to need a second opinion from a real sports doc. who deals with this stuff all the time.

Anyone have suggestions?

while your "general" doctor may have told you what the results were, most likely the radiologist at the MRI imaging center read the MRI and wrote the MRI report...your doctor just relayed that information to you.

[issa_trainer]

i've had the same pain for about 2 years at least now, stopped working out for a 6 month period before while doing ROM stretches daily and physio 5-7 days a week...Got nothing out of it but a big loss in mass...Not sure if i just have a really bad case of impingment syndrome or a tear but hopefully not the latter...

I went for a few MRI's too man and my second was with the dye injected in the shoulder and they still found nothing that they would classify as "worthy for a scope"

My advice take some time off from working out, see if that helps, if it doesnt get it scoped this way you know for sure what the problem is if any that requires surgery

[TheWatcher]

Another Update...


CLIFFS:

-Went to very well respected ortho. surgeon
-Recommends surgery, small labrum tear in front of left shoulder
-Small labrum tear in back of right shoulder
-Don't know if I should have surgery in March (spring break) or May (semester over).


Went to a top orthopedic surgeon in my area (around Detroit, MI), (Dr. Kyle Anderson) is the head physician for Detroit Lions, has worked with the Red Wings, Tigers. Performed surgery on hundreds of professional and collegiate athletes. Specializes in Shoulder and Elbow Reconstruction and Arthroscopy. He has written numerous scientific journal articles about techniques with shoulder and elbow surgery, and has written chapters in books on the subject. He is the director of shoulder surgery fellowship at U of M. Very qualified.

After getting an MRI on my left shoulder and looking at the MRI of the right, he said I have a small labrum tear in the front of the left shoulder, and a small labrum tear in the back of my right shoulder.

He recommended surgery, as physical therapy would just pretty much be procrastinating with my recovery. and 3-6 months physical therapy before I can start back up with weights.

I'm now trying to decide whether I want to get my shoulder surgery in March when I have a week off of school for Spring Break, or should i wait until May when I have about 4 months off of school.

I have a 35 min. drive to and from school 4 times a week, I would imagine driving in a sling would be difficult. Plus I'm kind of worried about people bumping into me and stuff at school...

So the big question is should I get it done soon, in March (about a month from now) ? or early May, when I don't have school? I want to get the recovery process going though.

Others who have had the surgery, your input is greatly appreciated.

[nadz147]

Did you have any clicking noises from your shoulder with any moements?

[BradleyS]

Another Update...


CLIFFS:

-Went to very well respected ortho. surgeon
-Recommends surgery, small labrum tear in front of left shoulder
-Small labrum tear in back of right shoulder
-Don't know if I should have surgery in March (spring break) or May (semester over).


Went to a top orthopedic surgeon in my area (around Detroit, MI), (Dr. Kyle Anderson) is the head physician for Detroit Lions, has worked with the Red Wings, Tigers. Performed surgery on hundreds of professional and collegiate athletes. Specializes in Shoulder and Elbow Reconstruction and Arthroscopy. He has written numerous scientific journal articles about techniques with shoulder and elbow surgery, and has written chapters in books on the subject. He is the director of shoulder surgery fellowship at U of M. Very qualified.

After getting an MRI on my left shoulder and looking at the MRI of the right, he said I have a small labrum tear in the front of the left shoulder, and a small labrum tear in the back of my right shoulder.

He recommended surgery, as physical therapy would just pretty much be procrastinating with my recovery. and 3-6 months physical therapy before I can start back up with weights.

I'm now trying to decide whether I want to get my shoulder surgery in March when I have a week off of school for Spring Break, or should i wait until May when I have about 4 months off of school.

I have a 35 min. drive to and from school 4 times a week, I would imagine driving in a sling would be difficult. Plus I'm kind of worried about people bumping into me and stuff at school...

So the big question is should I get it done soon, in March (about a month from now) ? or early May, when I don't have school? I want to get the recovery process going though.

Others who have had the surgery, your input is greatly appreciated.

I would suggest March. In march you are late into the semester already. Are you going to do one shoulder then the next? If you do one in March, you can have the other one done in June or probably July. If you start in May, you'll have the other one done during the beginning of a new semester which is not fun at all.

procrastination/pain/labral tears are not your friends. get on it!

Consider investing in a bed wedge for when the time comes...it's lots easier to sleep on a giant soft wedge than a recliner for a week or two.

[RyanGrob]

The sling doesn't affect driving, but the discomfort did. I had to drive 6 days after surgery because I had classes. I was fine, but granted I didn't drive 35 minutes, only 10. For longer rides, it did get uncomfortable, but it was manageable. I say sooner rather than later so you can start up the healing. Welcome to the SLAP tear club

[dpaul96088]

I had same problem from years of armwrestling. I had what is called Prolotherpy which tightened everything up nicely.Check google for proloyherapy there is list of practioners there.

[BradleyS]

I had same problem from years of armwrestling. I had what is called Prolotherpy which tightened everything up nicely.Check google for proloyherapy there is list of practioners there.

once a labrum is torn, it cannot heal itself. prolotherapy is a series of injections, correct?

[dangerbird]

look into prolotherapy, i have 2 terrible shoulders one of which is similiar to yours in that its unstable and causing pain/weakness. i start prolo in 6 days, and will keep you updated on the progress. be sure to remind me with a pm in 3 weeks or so . the research ive done on the prolo looks great, and it cna heal labrum tears.

[dangerbird]

once a labrum is torn, it cannot heal itself. prolotherapy is a series of injections, correct?

its a misconception that the labrum actually contributes to shoulder stability. cartilage is not made to stabilize the joint, this is the ligaments job, when they are loose you get pain and instability. prolotherapy tightens the ligaments

[stevieb00mbotz]

I have an MRI w/ Anthrogram on tuesday for a shoulder i dislocated almost 6 weeks ago. I was told that getting an MRI w/ Anthrogram is really the only way to get a good picture of the labrum, otherwise the quality is not acceptable.

for the area that we are talking about you are absolutely correct sir.

[TheWatcher]

I'm thinking I'm just going to get it done in March..thanks for your opinions BradleyS and RyanGrob.

As for the prolo, I have looked into it.. I dunno, seems like it would help in a lot of different problems such as tendon strains, tendonitis, arthritis, etc. things that have to do with natural "wear and tear" or strains on joints, but for an actual structural problem, I don't see how it could help, especially in my case.

An injection cannot cause the torn part of my labrum to re-attach itself back onto the rim of the Glenoid fossa.

As for the glenohumeral ligaments providing stability and not the labrum, I dunno about this either. You are correct about the ligaments providing stability, but I'm pretty sure the labrum deepens the socket that the humeral head sits in, therefore providing with more inherent stability. The reason you don't see people dislocating their hips very often is because of how deep the head of the femur sits into the acetabulum (hip socket), it is very deep and stable compared to the relatively shallow and more unstable glenohumeral socket.

Don't get me wrong, if it works than hell, that would be pretty sweet. But I'm not so sure if it can help me out. Good luck with it though.

[dangerbird]

I'm thinking I'm just going to get it done in March..thanks for your opinions BradleyS and RyanGrob.

As for the prolo, I have looked into it.. I dunno, seems like it would help in a lot of different problems such as tendon strains, tendonitis, arthritis, etc. things that have to do with natural "wear and tear" or strains on joints, but for an actual structural problem, I don't see how it could help, especially in my case.

An injection cannot cause the torn part of my labrum to re-attach itself back onto the rim of the Glenoid fossa.

As for the glenohumeral ligaments providing stability and not the labrum, I dunno about this either. You are correct about the ligaments providing stability, but I'm pretty sure the labrum deepens the socket that the humeral head sits in, therefore providing with more inherent stability. The reason you don't see people dislocating their hips very often is because of how deep the head of the femur sits into the acetabulum (hip socket), it is very deep and stable compared to the relatively shallow and more unstable glenohumeral socket.

Don't get me wrong, if it works than hell, that would be pretty sweet. But I'm not so sure if it can help me out. Good luck with it though.

Prolotherapy is a much more humane way to heal the shoulder vs surgery IMO, ive had labrum repair surgery before and its something you want to avoid at all costs due to the pain and how long it takes to recover from.

[inkaddiction]

Wow, a ton of bad advice floating around this post. First an MRI can determine a tear. Second the guy saying a arthroscopy is not surgery is out of his mind. Let him have his shoulder scoped and then say that. In order to get the scope portal and the accessory portal in the shoulder you have to make at least a 5mm "nic" in the skin and then in the deltoid. The pain from the surgery is most often pain from going through the delt.
I had a similar problem but without the MRI ****. My copay like yours was high as **** (1/4 the price of the surgery). I elected to have arthroscopic "surgery" on what (like you) was a known problem. First the doc preformed a minipulation under anseth and then moved forward with the surgery. I ended up needing a sup labral replair and an acromioplasty. 100% today. Don't just go to any ortho in your area find a sports med guy doing a bunch of these surgerys. Guys who will repair your issue arthroscopic, NOT OPEN or Mini Open.. If they split that delt your in a **** load of pain. Get a block and ice ice ice. If they use anchors to repair it, don't be a jackass follow his post op orders. Those anchors are made of PLLA or PGA (absorbable plastic) and are easy to pull out.

[Braindrop]

Good luck with your shoulder. I'm claustrophobic, and had to get two MRIs for my shoulder. No fun. Nor was the dye injection.

My story is similar to many here:

Injured shoulder pulling luggage out of overhead. Tried to wait it out, but it didn't get better. First MRI, at the behest of my GP before he'd do a referral, showed nothing. Got a referral for a great shoulder guy who did my dad's rotator cuff in '06, he ordered another MRI, this one an arthogram with dye injection.

There was a small (~ 1mm) cyst in the back labrum. Before he cut on me, he wanted me to do 3 months of rehab on it (which took 4 months because of business travel).

I approached the PT with the same attitude of a workout. Effort and intensity. It frankly shocked me how many people in the place moved like zombies, yet still expected to see results. At the end, it wasn't hurting at all during normal daily activity, it didn't wake me up hurting, etc. My doc said that as long as it was no longer constantly hurting, and it wasn't affecting my daily life, he didn't want to cut on it.

Since January I've been back in the gym, starting at about 60% of what I was doing pre-injury. It feels *way* better, my range of motion is totally back, and I've been gradually building back up the weights I'm pushing.

I still know there is something wrong back there if I hyperextend it, but it isn't bothering me during workouts. I'm hoping to never have to have it operated on...

[BradleyS]

look into prolotherapy, i have 2 terrible shoulders one of which is similiar to yours in that its unstable and causing pain/weakness. i start prolo in 6 days, and will keep you updated on the progress. be sure to remind me with a pm in 3 weeks or so . the research ive done on the prolo looks great, and it cna heal labrum tears.

The research you have done? What research?

http://slaptear.com/component/option.../limitstart,0/

^^ that research?

its a misconception that the labrum actually contributes to shoulder stability. cartilage is not made to stabilize the joint, this is the ligaments job, when they are loose you get pain and instability. prolotherapy tightens the ligaments

No single structure in the shoulder is responsible for stability. The labrum adds stability by providing depth to the gelnoid. That might explain to you while you can have a stable shoulder while having a torn labrum.

I'm thinking I'm just going to get it done in March..thanks for your opinions BradleyS and RyanGrob.

As for the prolo, I have looked into it.. I dunno, seems like it would help in a lot of different problems such as tendon strains, tendonitis, arthritis, etc. things that have to do with natural "wear and tear" or strains on joints, but for an actual structural problem, I don't see how it could help, especially in my case.

An injection cannot cause the torn part of my labrum to re-attach itself back onto the rim of the Glenoid fossa.

As for the glenohumeral ligaments providing stability and not the labrum, I dunno about this either. You are correct about the ligaments providing stability, but I'm pretty sure the labrum deepens the socket that the humeral head sits in, therefore providing with more inherent stability. The reason you don't see people dislocating their hips very often is because of how deep the head of the femur sits into the acetabulum (hip socket), it is very deep and stable compared to the relatively shallow and more unstable glenohumeral socket.

Don't get me wrong, if it works than hell, that would be pretty sweet. But I'm not so sure if it can help me out. Good luck with it though.

You are a smart man...repped you back.

Prolotherapy is a much more humane way to heal the shoulder vs surgery IMO, ive had labrum repair surgery before and its something you want to avoid at all costs due to the pain and how long it takes to recover from.

humane way? You can try prolotherapy all you want, but it does not guarantee you can heal the tear.

Labral tears that heal themselves are rare. Very rare. You hear stories about it every once in a while with very small tears. Does it actually repair the labrum by helping blood flow in the area? I don't know. I don't think anyone does. Is there any concrete objective information on this? No.

My surgeon, Dr. Brad Plaga, straight up told me if I wanted to be back to normal, I would need this surgery. He performs countless flawless surgeries, I think he would be the man to know. I tried physical therapy for more than a year to get my shoulders to 'heal' and it did jack ****. My physical therapist has a torn labrum in his right shoulder and his shoulder is stable. He has had it for years, and his never healed. I sure as hell can tell you my tears did not heal on their own.





http://slaptear.com/component/option.../limitstart,6/

Prolotherapy is a series of shots taken 3-6 times every 2-3 weeks and with each shot it inflames an injured joint which encourages bloodflow and healing. Since it increases healing its a good idea to use it post-op slap repair, since slap tears can be stuborn to heal.

You suggested here to use it incident to surgery.

Click back to the first page of that thread, on 2007/04/13 01:44 you said you are going to let them know how it was. So, how was it?

Wow, a ton of bad advice floating around this post. First an MRI can determine a tear. Second the guy saying a arthroscopy is not surgery is out of his mind. Let him have his shoulder scoped and then say that. In order to get the scope portal and the accessory portal in the shoulder you have to make at least a 5mm "nic" in the skin and then in the deltoid. The pain from the surgery is most often pain from going through the delt.
I had a similar problem but without the MRI ****. My copay like yours was high as **** (1/4 the price of the surgery). I elected to have arthroscopic "surgery" on what (like you) was a known problem. First the doc preformed a minipulation under anseth and then moved forward with the surgery. I ended up needing a sup labral replair and an acromioplasty. 100% today. Don't just go to any ortho in your area find a sports med guy doing a bunch of these surgerys. Guys who will repair your issue arthroscopic, NOT OPEN or Mini Open.. If they split that delt your in a **** load of pain. Get a block and ice ice ice. If they use anchors to repair it, don't be a jackass follow his post op orders. Those anchors are made of PLLA or PGA (absorbable plastic) and are easy to pull out.

you are a smart man too, repped.

My surgeon told me he MIGHT have to open the shoulder if he was unable to get it with a scope. He ended up being able to get it with the scope, lucky for me. There are different opinions on using a scope or open, but I do believe you when you say open surgery would hurt like a bitch.

I had a block on my left shoulder and it did not take and I was in hell for a few days. I stayed in the hospital for two days. I didn't need a block on my other shoulder, the "bad right shoulder." I went home a few hours after waking up. Glad to hear you are 100%.

Good luck with your shoulder. I'm claustrophobic, and had to get two MRIs for my shoulder. No fun. Nor was the dye injection.

My story is similar to many here:

Injured shoulder pulling luggage out of overhead. Tried to wait it out, but it didn't get better. First MRI, at the behest of my GP before he'd do a referral, showed nothing. Got a referral for a great shoulder guy who did my dad's rotator cuff in '06, he ordered another MRI, this one an arthogram with dye injection.

There was a small (~ 1mm) cyst in the back labrum. Before he cut on me, he wanted me to do 3 months of rehab on it (which took 4 months because of business travel).

I approached the PT with the same attitude of a workout. Effort and intensity. It frankly shocked me how many people in the place moved like zombies, yet still expected to see results. At the end, it wasn't hurting at all during normal daily activity, it didn't wake me up hurting, etc. My doc said that as long as it was no longer constantly hurting, and it wasn't affecting my daily life, he didn't want to cut on it.

Since January I've been back in the gym, starting at about 60% of what I was doing pre-injury. It feels *way* better, my range of motion is totally back, and I've been gradually building back up the weights I'm pushing.

I still know there is something wrong back there if I hyperextend it, but it isn't bothering me during workouts. I'm hoping to never have to have it operated on...

Glad to hear you're doing well. I had problems with my shoulders for years before deciding to get surgery. Therapy was great, and my shoulders felt much more stable after three or four months. Even with keeping up on therapy, my shoulders still found a few positions to hurt me at random times. I just couldn't shake it off.

I hope you never have to have it operated on either, keep it up!





There are tons of different opinions in this thread, as well as lots of misinformation. However, I think we can all agree that labral tears suck...