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Shoulder problem, rotator cuff? Any advice for help is appreciated


JadeOrchidSong
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I fell hard on icy road while biking last December. I landed on my left arm for support and felt the sharp shock to my left shoulder, neck, and head.

Since the pain was not too bad, I didn't see a doctor. But since then, I have lots of pain moving my left arm. And now my left shoulder and its surrounding muscles ache terribly, usually when I touch them. I don't feel pain if I don't touch the area. I also have pain on my side under the arm very close to my breast. I thought it was breast cancer at first and went to see the doctor, who said it was not. Also the mammogram only showed extremely dense breast tissue.

So now should I see a shoulder specialist?

I will call the doctor for a referral.

Anyone else has shoulder problem or similar issue? What have you done?

Thanks for listening!

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I hurt mine recently, it was not that bad at first, but kept getting worse. I am seeing a Physical Therapist after a referral to one from my doctor. Currently I cannot do any stretching except a mild shoulder roll, and I am icing the shoulder until swelling goes down, at which time I will do some PT to get my range of motion back. They also gave me some ideas for propping up the arm with a variety of pillows when sitting and sleeping so it would hurt less in those positions.

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I recently fell from a tree (my own little Fail Video), over-stretched the back of my hip and hit my head. I did go to the ER right away and had an x-ray and CT scan done to rule out tears to tendons and fluid in the hip and brain. It was worth it, as I know pretty much what I'm dealing with.

 

You don't really know what you've done to your shoulder. There are lots of muscles (large and small), a couple bones, tendons, bursa, nerves, etc. The shoulder is one joint I'd be very careful with. See a doctor.

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Yes, see a shoulder specialist. You do not want to end up with a frozen shoulder. BTDT. And you can get the right kind of exercises to help you heal. If you've already got frozen shoulder, do your exercises, but know that it cycles and it tends to move toward improvement only in one part of the cycle. Don't give up. I've had two frozen shoulders and one is completely healed. The other I regained probably 85% of my shoulder mobility. 

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After Hurricane Matthew in 2016, we had a lot of yard cleanup to do. Dh insisted on digging out the stump of one of the trees that fell. The roots were really fighting him but he won. So he thought. He was sore and just figured it was because of all the physical work he did, but when his shoulder wouldn't stop hurting he finally saw a doctor.

 

He ended up needing rotator cuff surgery. If I were you I'd see a doctor before it gets worse and/or you do more damage by continuing to use your arm and shoulder muscles. I'm sure they'll tell you but just be forewarned that the recovery time from surgery, if you want it to heal properly, is about 6 weeks. There will be certain arm movements that will be forbidden. It will be tempting to start using it normally as you start feeling better but that can make you need more surgery. It's not worth ignoring doctor's orders. Even my dh who tends to go back to doing things before he should, was very careful to listen to his doctor.

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I’ll encourage you to see a doctor. I injured my shoulder and it got progressively got worse over the period of a year. I put off seeing a doc because I was pretty convinced it was a rotator cuff issue and I was afraid of surgery. And I was taking care of MIL, 1000 miles from home. I finally had to see a doctor because I simply had no mobility and was in constant pain.

Nope, not a rotator cuff injury, and after 2 months of physical therapy I am 100% again. I feel pretty stupid for not seeing the doc soooner.

All this to say...go ahead and see a doctor. It might need surgery or it might not. But you’re going to get better faster WITH medical care than without.

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