Posted on 11/03/2016 6:00:02 PM PDT by gop4lyf
My dr. gave me a very mild muscle relaxer for overwhelming neck pain, which was really related to supertight muscles versus anything skeletal. They make my mouth dry but the pain is more of a very subtle ache and very livable now. I have also had rotator surgery, traditional kind (big mistake). But the muscle relaxers help the shoulder as well.
Find out if you have a chiropractor/physical therapist who uses a functional movement screen to diagnose then treats with active release technology.
I had a problem with my lower back - felt like someone was jamming a rod up through my buttocks into my spine. Shopping for groceries left me in tears, the pain was influencing my quality of life.
I went to a chiropractor friend for treatment and it didn’t help one bit. I heard a local chiropractor interviewed on the radio and what he talked about made sense. Four treatments from him (using the functional movement screen and active release technology) and the pain was gone!! Now if I ever get a twinge, I do the stretch and it goes away.
At my initial screening he asked if I was a runner (I competed through college) and he made a guess as to the injuries I struggled with back then. He was spot on and no one had figured out the cause before. What had caused me to have hamstring struggles then was causing the pain now. An extremely simple stretching and balancing routine fixed the problem.
I have rotator cuff tears in both shoulders, the left is the worse because I am left-handed, and I have an impingement there as well. I had bilateral carpal tunnel surgery back in 2000, but my hands have never gotten any better. If I use a mouse for any length of time I get pain from my left elbow down into my hand. My elbow also pops, and my left shoulder pops painfully, and grinds at times. For many years now, I have used pillows on either side of me to elevate my arms when I sleep. It’s the only way I can get any relief from the burning and discomfort I have. I don’t take pain pills, but do take an anti-inflammatory pill once a day prescribed by my rheumatologist. Not that it does much. I had a cortisone shot in my shoulder in September, but it didn’t do anything, in fact, it made the symptoms in my arm and hands worse. When my shoulder gets badly inflamed, I use a heating pad. I’ve just had to get used to having chronic pain in various parts of my body. I’m 69 years old. Hope you are able to find some relief.
Going thru this or similar off and on since Dec 2015. Left shoulder, then down left arm. Have full range of motion, but have boring, knawing pain. Comes and goes for weeks at a time.
Phys therapy is a joke and I quit it.
Pain meds, OTC, muscle relaxers, opiates. Believe it or not, Alieve (naproxin Sodium) does best, but nothing completely kills it. Cortisone shots coming. Hope it works.
This is going to sound crazy but the first thing you should do is Extra Strength Antacid from Walmart, the Equate brand and the .88 simethicone and take them for a few days.
I don’t have much to offer you except a the words of my father.
He said to me in his last days, “do let them tell you arthritis doesn’t kill. It does”.
Now, to that I will add DO NOT LET THEM GIVE YOU METHYOTREXATE. If they prescribe it, don’t take it.
It is an immuno-suppressor. And that lead, in my father, to cancer...Started with colon cancer, and spread to lung cancer, and liver cancer. Then death. Total time about 30 months from when he started taking Methotrexate.
No arthritis but I had a pinched nerve on one side of my upper back under a shoulder blade. Intense pain radiated from that point up onto my shoulder and down one arm. There were times and days where I think I would have cut off my arm at the shoulder if it would stop the pain. I was eating 10 aspirin or 4000 mgs of Ibuprofen a day. I alternated between them, one 1 day, the other the next.
I went to a chiropractor for a month a couple times a week. Never got better and I told that quack to shove the bill up his ass. He was just making money off me, trying to.
I finally went to a respected actual physical rehab clinic, like people with sports injuries and athletes go to.
They did: Ultrasound massage, hand massage, heat, electro stimulation & physical manipulation.... all to get the knot of muscle strands under that shoulder blade that had involuntarily clenched to let go.
It took a good three weeks of 2-3 visits a week going through all that therapy. The bill was $3,000 (insurance)
I hope that helps. Good luck.
Professional Rehab clinic
As an example, mine was called Rehab Arizona... here is their website link to look over and find one like it in your area.
Of course, your problem might be something else. ;-)
My advice is don’t throw anything or reach behind your back.
Unless you had an injury, it’s probably osteoarthritis, also called “wear and tear arthritis”. I have it in many joints but it’s by far the worst in one hip. Short of an artificial joint there’s not much to be done about it. Welcome to middle age. I suggest you start preparing yourself mentally for geezerhood and stock up on ibuprofen.
Are you a believer? If so, go to your church or believing friend, get anointed, and have prayers with hands laid on!!
Blessings! YGTG
You are only 40. Quit the Pt, get one more cortisone shot. Get active-on at Wal-Mart, rest your shoulder, and don’t sleep on it. You’ll be fine.
Possible frozen shoulder. Make sure your neck is elevated so that your spine aligns when you sleep. Buy an expensive pillow, they are worth the money. Do not sleep with your arm extended or curled near your head, let it rest adjacentbto your body to give the tendons time to relax and reduce swelling. Finally, get a second opinion. I was able to avoid surgery by changing pillow and sleep position, had two frozen shoukders. It took about two months for the pain to dissipate and my range of motion to return. Good luck!
I agree with Post #21. If this one doctor did not help,see another one, maybe a sports medicine specialist. Also remember soft tissue injuries will not show up on xrays, but will on CT or MRI scans. If you have insurance, see if your carrier has a nurse helpline. They may be able to direct you to the specialist that can accurately diagnose and treat what ails you. Best of luck.
could it be tommy johns.
NYT did a similar story...a woman painted bookcases all day and got severe pain in her upper arm due to the repetitive motion....not from an injury.
Pills helped momentarily....then she discovered red wine. Seems there’s something in red wine that numbs pain.
Yes, I agree... adhesive capsulitis, or frozen shoulder. I had it for 7 months. Did pt, then finally got a cortisone shot in the back of my shoulder.
You might benefit from the Graston technique....look it up
Avoid overhand throwing motions and don’t reach behind your back.
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