Shoulder Issues

Jockette

Staff member since March 18, 2018
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I’ve been having an occasional problem with my left shoulder. It feels like something on the top of the shoulder gets caught but if I slowly and carefully sort of rotate it, it corrects itself.

I have full range of motion.

About an hour ago it seemed to get caught worse than usual. Right now it feels a bit like cold air got inside my shoulder.

One week post op PKR, 3-20-17, was the first time my PT force bent my knee. I grabbed the sides of the table I was laying on and held on for dear life because it hurt so bad. 2 hours later it felt like the front of my shoulder was on fire, the pain was a 10 and the dilaudid I was taking for the knee didn’t touch it. I did not have full range of motion at that point.

Back to my OS a few days later for an X-ray of the shoulder and they called it acute tendinitis.

Could that incident have started what’s going on now, a year and a half later? My current issue has been happening for about a month.

My main question is, if it gets to the point I need to see a doctor, my guess is PT will be the first thing they suggest. (isn’t it always?)

After the PT for my knee I am very leary of “therapy”. In this case should I go if it is recommended?
 
I forgot to add that I was using my arms more than usual that first week of recovery, so they were probably pretty stressed by that PT appointment, which was the last straw.
 
Well for shoulder tendinitis, PT is usually quite helpful, I found. However, my primary treatment was my TENS machine, couldn't and still can't, manage without it! The other remedy is cortisone injections. I'm waiting for my latest one now. Should have had them (both shoulders) 12 weeks ago but my surgeon had an unexpected study leave and I'm still waiting for a new appointment. Problem is, he always has most of August off so is always backed up for several weeks after! My point being, I'm making good use of my TENS now!
 
Hi @Josephine - lurking here from hip recovery group as I have had challenges with my right shoulder/arm since the hip forced me to sleep on my back and right side for the past couple of years.

I have a TENS and use it periodically for the shoulder pain which is in the front near the arm pit. I'm not quite ready to tackle the medical world again but would like to know where you apply the TENS pads. Thanks.

Sorry @jockett - to highjack your post but it was helpful to me to read and see the responses. I'll likely tackle this body part with PT after I finish the hip! You fix one part and the next goes...just like an old car or my house which was built the year I was born!
 
@luvsibes
I’m trying to avoid “tackling this with PT” as I no longer trust them after my knee experience.

I also have occasional pain in front, like you describe. I’m trying to be really careful not to upset my shoulder any further.
 
Dead right, Jockette definitely no 'tackling'!

where you apply the TENS pads.
It depends where the focal point of the pain is. If you find that with your finger, then apply four bad around it as described here - the focal point is where the red and blue lines cross

tens electrodes.jpg
 
@Josephine My shoulder is getting a little worse. I’m going to ask my chiropractor to address it.

If PT is suggested, should I go? And if I go, what should I NOT do in PT? I’m really afraid to trust a PT after my (and other’s) experience with them.
 
Isn't there someone who can give you a cortisone shot?

And have you tried using a TENS machine?

Can't think of anything injurious off the top of my head!
 
@Josephine
I have not been to a doctor yet. I wanted to get some dos and don’ts from you first.

There are so many things we should not do in PT with our knee replacement that I didn’t know before I found Bonesmart, that I wanted to know if I should be aware of anything similar with the shoulder. I don’t want a PT to hurt me unnecessarily like they did my knee, so I checked with you first.

I will look into a tens unit.

My neck has been hurting for a long time also, so I am scheduled next week for a scan that my chiropractor’s office does. It will scan my neck and spine. Hopefully something will show in the scan that will also be related to my shoulders, as of yesterday the right shoulder has joined the party, though not as bad as the left.

I’ve been reading a lot of the other shoulder threads to learn about them.
 
Let me know what he finds in the xray. Seriously, I think you need a diagnosis there before you can consider PT.
 
@beachy I have not been to a doctor about it yet. It just doesn’t feel right so I’m just gathering information right now.

I started this thread to ask questions.

I would love to hear about your friend’s experience with PT. I can’t imagine they didn’t send him.

If I ever get sent to PT for this, most likely before surgery is suggested, I don’t want to make the same mistakes I did with PT after my knee replacement.
 
I will see him this weekend probably Saturday. I’ll ask him for details.

Hopefully, you have something that doesn’t require surgery.
 
I’m taking Tylenol at least 3 times a day (1000 mg) and sometimes get that 4th dose in overnight, and it feels better than it did a couple of days ago. I’m also seeing my chiropractor.
 
I’m going to physio at the moment for my (dislocated) left shoulder. The ultrasound showed a tear in the tendon plus arthritis in the shoulder joint and collar bone.
Hi Christi, I’m having some shoulder issues, so I started a thread in the shoulder pre op forum to ask questions.

I have not seen an orthopedic Dr yet, just started seeing my chiropractor and haven’t had any tests done yet, so no diagnosis.

What are you doing in PT for your shoulder and is it helping? After some aggressive things done in PT for my knee I’m afraid to trust a PT for other things.
 
Hey, Jockette. Just popping over here from the knee forum to check things out due to my recent shoulder issues. 9 or 10 years ago I fell from the first step down a full flight of stairs and hit the concrete floor at the bottom. Surprisingly no real damage except my shoulder which slammed against the wall on my way down. We had absolutely no insurance at the time. I was pretty sure I hadn't broken anything and my theory was I was going to have to be in pain a long time before I let anybody cut on my shoulder. I really couldn't afford to go anyway. And I was younger and i guess i still thought myself invincible.

Anyway, long story short, I googled all the PT shoulder exercises I could find and sorted what i liked and decided to work on my own rehab. I read a lot and after resting and icing for a couple of weeks, I started slow. I picked out what i thought might help and started with about 5 reps of 3 or 4 things and slowly built up. Mostly slow range of motion stretches with no weights until several months out. Ever so slowly it got better. It took 2 months before i could sleep with my arm in a downward position and it took 2 years to get completely back to normal, but it finally did. Now I've tripped and slammed into another wall (no stairs this time) and it's aching again. This time I might actually see the doctor. Still debating. It's been a month and at first it seemed to be getting better and now it's back to bad again.

I think your horrible PT after knee surgery has given you every reason to have concerns about seeing any therapist again. You are terrified of being manhandled again and I can't say I blame you. If you did your own PT at home and were in control and could stop before it hurt, would that be something you would consider? Sounds like you hate going to the doctor nearly as much as I do, but if you knew what was wrong and IF it was something that PT might help, there are a huge amount of reputable physical therapy sites that post detailed exercises and you tube videos for specific conditions. Of course, there are some things PT isn't going to help at all. My brother in law just finished his second shoulder replacement and it sounds pretty awful. But i guess it's like knees, there comes a point when nothing else will work. But I'm leary of surgery until I've tried everything else first . I hope you find a good solution.
 
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@Jajakio Thank you for those thoughts. I’m so sorry you had those falls, especially that first one you mentioned. Amazing you were not injured more!

I am not opposed to some exercises for my shoulder, I’m opposed to being misled to do wrong ones, as happens with many knee replacement patients, and make things worse.

I see a chiropractor regularly, and have for years. She calls me her “less is more girl” as my body is sensitive and can’t handle some of the things she can do with her other patients. So I’ll see what she might suggest for my shoulder.

I had a neck and spine scan done on Friday at my chiropractor’s office. My neck has bothered me for years. It will be interesting to see if anything in the scan shows any connection to my shoulder issue.

I am also working to wean off carrying my big heavy purse. (See my thread about that in the Social Room.)

My shoulder is a bit better than it was last week. I’m trying to be really careful with it.
 
@Josephine I got the results of the scan my chiropractor did on my neck and spine today. (not an X-ray, a scan)

The results are shown on a diagram of the spine and I have issues in both the spine and neck that she is going to address. (I don’t know how to describe them.) I’m going to see her about once a week for a while to see if it will also relieve some of the shoulder discomfort.

She doesn’t really get into shoulders much, she says if needed I could see an orthopedic Dr for them if what she does in the mean time doesn’t help.

I am feeling better, I’m taking 1000 Tylenol 3 times a day, being really careful how I move, and I’m weaning myself off my big, heavy shoulder bag/purse.
 

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