BS: Shoulder twinges

Subject: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: Little Hawk
Date: 18 Jan 07 - 08:44 PM

Here's an odd thing. My left shoulder started bothering me a couple of weeks ago. Not exactly what I'd call serious pain, but a feeling of discomfort when reaching up and back or moving the arm quickly. Could it be arthritis? It's been bothering me at night, making it hard to sleep on the left side. Now the right shoulder is feeling a bit troubled too. Anyone got any ideas what that could be?

Before some smart aleck weighs in and says, "Consult a medical practitioner..."   YES I am going to do that anyway. Tomorrow if I can.

In the meantime I am going to talk about it on the Net to a whole bunch of people here, because I feel like doing so. Okay?

Shoot.

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: Bert
Date: 18 Jan 07 - 08:45 PM

Maybe fibrositis.

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: Little Hawk
Date: 18 Jan 07 - 08:48 PM

And what is that?

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: Little Hawk
Date: 18 Jan 07 - 08:53 PM

Never mind. I just read up on it. It does sound a lot like what I'm experiencing, and I have been suffering one of the causes of it which is: inadequate sleep. Have not been sleeping well at all lately.

They say that heat helps, so I will try out a heating pad tonight and see how that works.

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: Bonecruncher
Date: 18 Jan 07 - 09:39 PM

As an Osteopath I can tell you that "fibrositis" is medical language for "inflammation of the fibres". Considering that there are fibres present in muscle, tendon, ligament, fascia and all connective tissue it is, therefore, nothing more than a doctor's clever way of saying "I don't know what's wrong with you, but you've got pain".
I get just as annoyed when I hear medical doctors tell a patient "You've got sciatica" when they have pains down the back of the legs. Sciatica ia a symptom, not a diagnosis.
Pain in the shoulder can be have many causes. Age, occupation, hobbies and sporting interests of the patient must be taken into account, together with any history of trauma, either recent or historical. The way in which the body works, with one part of the body having an effect on another, can cause remote pain. For instance, shoulder pain can be caused by arthritis of the hip, where the opposite shoulder is used for balance when walking.
Shoulder pain can also be indicative of internal organic problems.
Suggest you see an Osteopath or Chiropractor near you for a more accurate diagnosis than you are likely to get from a GP.
Colyn.

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: Little Hawk
Date: 18 Jan 07 - 09:48 PM

Thanks. That's exactly what I plan to do. 2 guesses here...I've been doing a lot of computer (typing and mouse), and that could be the problem. I was also doing some martial arts stuff (punches), and maybe I overdid it, but I can't recall if that was before or after the shoulder started giving trouble.

We shall see what the doctor (D.C.) says.

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: Cluin
Date: 18 Jan 07 - 11:16 PM

Did you get a flu shot this year?

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: number 6
Date: 18 Jan 07 - 11:24 PM

A pain in your left arm could be a sign of heart problems ... at your age LH I wouldn't take such things too lightly.

"Marshall arts stuff (punches)" ......   ??????

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: Thomas the Rhymer
Date: 18 Jan 07 - 11:26 PM

Little Hawk,

Speaking as someone for whom 'overdoing it' is a more or less weekly event, I would say that your intuitonal mention of the (punches) would be a good place to start. I find some of my most damaging motions are the ones that meet little or no resistance, or that meet resistance before the 'expected' time of arrival. Punches can easily fulfill these criterion. Because one tends to build up the muscles and tendons that create the swift jab more thoroughly, an imbalance can occur... it is of the utmost importance to build up the 'stopping' muscles and tendons equally, in order to compensate for your increased speed and force when you miss or hit too soon. In general, overextention of joints, muscles and tendons seems to be the result of focusing on the leveling of the punch to the exclusion of it's resulting need to be 'brought back'.

Maybe what you need, Little Hawk, is a better 'exit strategy'...    ;^)
ttr

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: Cluin
Date: 18 Jan 07 - 11:33 PM

You could just have slept on it wrong. I did that once and that, coupled with a lot of time on the computer, furiously mousing around (was doing a graphics project to a deadline) and playing guitar and mondolin the rest of the time, gave me a sore shoulder that lasted several weeks.

Are you right or left handed?

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 12:16 AM

I had a lot of pain in my neck and shoulders that went away when I got new reading glasses for my computer. Using "office glasses" means I'm not tipping my head back and giving myself a stiff neck.

I live in Fort Worth, TX, where until recently we had an osteopathic teaching hospital. I hadn't been to a DO before I moved here, but one day when my daughter was small and I picked her up wrong I ended up crawling to the phone to call my then-spouse to come take me to the hospital. We were new in town and grumbled again that we should have a regular doctor for this sort of thing. On an impulse, we pulled into a neighborhood minor emergency clinic that (as we learned) had DOs on staff. Expecting to be sent home in pain with an Rx for muscle relaxants, I was very pleased that the doctor (who said "I don't get much chance to do this") turned me on my side, one hand on my hip and the other on my shoulder, and twisted each opposite the other. There was an audible "pop!" and on the other side, again "pop! pop!" and it was just plain better, a little sore for having been out of place for a while. I went back home with a two-year-old in the house and only had to take Tylenol. I had been afraid I'd have to have another adult in the house if I was on heavy pain medication.

Sure opened my eyes to the medical possibilities of seeing different types of doctors!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: Slag
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 02:08 AM

Little Hawk with ailing wing, I don't want to alarm you BUT...

A few years back I had a similar thing going on. I thought I had slept funny on my left shoulder. In some posoitions it would be tweaked. Then it would get better. Then worse. After a couple of months I went to my orthopod who told me that I had an impingement of the acrimonium (? spelling) upon the rotator . He tried cortizone and that was bad for two reasons: 1) it didn't work and 2) I lost my eligibility for the Hall of Fame.

I wound up having arthroscopic surgery. They used to have to open the whole shoulder up but fortunately, no more. He buzzed down the bone a little and removed the torn up tissue (I have pictures!) and the recovery was slow. For a long time I wondered if he'd have to do it over. But after a complete year it was finally gone entirely and I am certainly glad I had it done. Hopefully, it will not be the case with you, but if it is, it's very fixable. Then maybe you can tone down the swinging thing with Chongo.

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 02:51 AM

Strange that this thread should rise now as I have been suffering the same kind of pain and have been considering seeing my GP. If I reach up suddenly with my right arm I get a pain in the shoulder the like of which I have never experienced...it lasts for several seconds and then is O.K again. I cannot put my right arm behind my back and reach upwards...which is how I usually wash my back and I can't put my right hand onto my left shoulder without some minor pain. Will see my GP first and then consider the more expensive option. Can't say I'm glad you are suffering the same LH but have sympathy with you.

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: MBSLynne
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 03:05 AM

I had exactly the same thing in one shoulder a couple of years ago and was told that it's something that is quite common as we get older and tendons and joints wear. The reaching up and back is the key. I was also told NOT to try stopping doing the things that make it hurt because if you do that you end up with 'frozen shoulder', a very common thing, when everything stiffens up due to lack of use. You can use anti inflammatories. I rubbed comfrey ointment on. It gradually went away. Recently I've had it mildly in the other shoulder but that is going away too.

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: jiva
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 08:21 AM

You have my sympathy - hope my explanation might be of some use...

I'd been suffering similarly for a few months, thinking I'd wrenched my shoulder moving my old computer monitor. Sudden movement, most stretching, reaching behind my back, and sleeping were painful. My GP tried painkillers and anti-inflammatory pills, but they just made me light headed and dizzy. He then suggested I visit the physiotherapist - there it was diagnosed as 'frozen shoulder' and I was given some exercises which helped a little, but I was still suffering.

Then I went to a local chiropractor, and after the first session I felt better - he referred me to the sports massage therapist, and those sessions helped too. After 2 months of these treatment sessions most of my shoulder/arm motion has returned - not back to normal yet, but they advised me on some different daily exercises and things are still 'on the mend'.

I do a lot of computer work in the office and at home, add to that lots of guitar playing (we always try to stand rather than sit when performing - better for vocal projection etc), so it will no doubt be something I need to keep in mind and not forget the exercises!

Jimmy
(jiva - Jimmy & Val)

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: Louie Roy
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 12:24 PM

Little Hawk you are suffering from more or less the same pain I endured for thre years before I had a complete shoulder implant so I wouldn't take it lightly because the pain at times is nearly unbearable.I recommend that you immediately contact an orthopedic surgeon and have Xrays and an MRI and get a correct answer to your problem.If you need an implant now or in the near future it is not going to go away in fact it will get worse every day.With the technology they have today with a positive attitude Shoulder Surgery is successful.For three years I had to carry my billfold in my shirt pocket because I couldn't reach behind my back to get it out of my back pocket and of course I'm right handed and it was my right shoulder.One other things I want to mention there are Orthopedic Surgeons and then there are Orthopedic Surgeons who operate onshoulders and believe me there is a differents

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: Mrrzy
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 12:30 PM

If you're a woman, shoulder pain can mean ovarian issues - it defers there.
I apparently have frozen shoulder - I've been having a lot of trouble reaching up with my right arm, and finally asked my massage therapist to work on it. After kind of taking my shoulder apart and putting it back together - it's different now, and I'll see in a few days if it's better. I'm right-handed and mouse a lot. Took 2 big glasses of wine to anesthetize the pain of the therapy, too!

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: GUEST,Shimrod
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 01:01 PM

I too have suffered from shoulder pain for the last few years. I first noticed it after trying to prune an apple tree in my garden.
A couple of years ago it got so bad I had to consult my GP. She sent me to a physiotherapist at the local hospital. He was a young lad who was still training - but because of this he was very conscientious. At first he thought that I had arthritis but, after fairly exhaustive testing decided that I had inflamed tendons. He then treated these with a combination of massage and ultra-sound (I think - can't remember exactly). After a couple of sessions the pain went away.

Back in November of 2006 the pain came back with a vengeance. This time lots of joints (knees, fingers, toes as well as shoulders) ached like fury. After a few days only the shoulder pain remained and I treated that myself with one of those deep heat gel pads. I think that this last episode was down to some sort of 'flu-like virus which attacked all the weak joints in my body (I know where they are now!).

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: Joe Offer
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 02:26 PM

I had similar pain, and blamed it on my computer. Then I married a chiropractor, and the pain went away. I don't know if it was the chiropractic treatment or......other things.
Before I got married, I found I could get relief for my sore shoulders by vigorously mopping a gymnasium, swinging that old mop from side to side in a broad swath.
And that's the truth.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: Little Hawk
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 03:51 PM

I know exactly what it is now. I went to my chiropractor and he quickly found all the tensed up muscles (of which there are several, specially on the left side...and wow, did they hurt when he massaged and stretched them!) It's tension in the muscles of the rotator cuff in the left shoulder. There is a tendon or a muscle involved which became irritated (either from the computer work or the punching into thin air bit or both). The irritated muscle becomes inflamed and swells up a bit, causing further irritation whenever you move your arm into certain positions, because the muscle (or tendon, can't remember exactly the terminology) passes through a narrow space between the bones and when it swells it can get pinched between those bones when moved in certain positions, and that hurts!

So, he worked on those areas some to loosen things up, and showed me an exercise to stretch and relax the muscles. He says good posture while working seated is essential to relaxing the muscles. He also recommends using an ice pack to initially reduce the inflammation and bring down the swelling. After that is accomplished, which may take a few days, use heat to relax the whole area.

This is good. It's a big relief to know what is going on, and this is a tense muscle problem, nothing more than that.

Joe, you made a smart move when you married that chiropractor. ;-) (in my opinion)

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: Bonecruncher
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 11:22 PM

Glad your Chiropractor could sort you out, Little Hawk.
Usually Osteopaths and Chiropractors are better at bone/muscle problems than are GPs, who normally receive very little training in musculo-skeletal problems.
I have four GPs as regular patients.
Colyn.

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: *daylia*
Date: 20 Jan 07 - 07:30 AM

Little Hawk, glad your chiropractor brought you some relief! I'd been seeing mine weekly since October for a similar problem in my right shoulder. There's a bone slightly out of place there, looks a bit dislocated but its not.   Its just stretched, strained ligaments and tendons from overuse (I try to do all the yardwork here myself and that's gotta change!), playing heavy guitars in awkward positions AND leaning on my "mouse arm" in front of this computer for hours on end (among other things, probably). The injured tendons limit movement and cause the muscles to go into spasm and oh oh OOOUUUUUUCCCHHHHHH......

THe chiropractic really helped my upper back and neck -- feels so loose and relaxed and DIFFERENT now!   :-)   but my poor shoulder was just getting progressively worse. So I told her last visit that imo, all the chiropractic was just aggravating/irritating the soft tissues in that shoulder more, and that I was considering acupuncture (shiver shiver) and limiting the chiropractic appointments to once a month.   

She quickly agreed, and recommended

low intensity laser therapy instead. Said she really respects these therapists, and has witnessed excellent results from this type of treatment.

Besides, she's known me all my life -- she knows how much I dislike needles, distrust the medical profession in general and in particular, new therapies. I'm nervous about ANYONE touching this tender fragile little bod as a matter of fact!

I had my first appt with the laser therapists that very day -- and by that evening the pain was about 30% less. After suffering with this for months on end while it got steadily worse, I was SO impressed! The laser therapy is painless, takes about 30 minutes and costs $35 a session.

I've had 2 more treatments since then, and this shoulder is improving by leaps and bounds!   :-) I can actually put my own coat on/pull on my boots/reach over my head with my right arm now without pain!   YIPPEEEEEEEEEE!!!   Still can't WORK that arm without pain when I lift it (ie lift or push anything when the arm is raised) but it's getting better.   Usually takes 6-10 treatments they said, less for an acute injury (ie sports), more for a chronic condition.

Anyways, just wanted to let you know what's working for my shoulder condition. Amazing, simply amazing, what can be done with various frequencies of light!!!

All the best LH,
daylia

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: Little Hawk
Date: 21 Jan 07 - 12:56 AM

Good for you. My shoulder is getting better now too, I'm happy to say.

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: GUEST,Patty
Date: 27 Feb 07 - 06:51 PM

U have trouble with my right shoulder and arm for approximately 6 months, and physiotherapy helped a little. but the problem is still there. I can't reach my hand behind my back to undo a bra and have trouble putting on and taking off sweaters. I get spasms in the arm when I try to do these things. I just had an MRI and will wait to see what it shows.

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: skipy
Date: 27 Feb 07 - 06:57 PM

Is it "wankers cramp", 50 / change!
Skipy

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: GUEST,ib48
Date: 28 Feb 07 - 01:05 PM

arthritis mate,got it myself,bloody painful

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: GUEST,Dickey
Date: 28 Feb 07 - 01:25 PM

Tendonitis. It comes and goes. Mine is gone right now.

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: GUEST,Foramen
Date: 01 Mar 07 - 02:08 AM

I got whiplash once. Rammed in the back by a drunk. Had my left hand on the steering wheel, and the next day my left shoulder and thumb hurt. Bad. Thought I jammed the arm or something. The doctor did X-rays and said the nerves leading out of the cervical vertebrae had been bruised. I think the C-5 nerve goes to the shoulder, and the C-6 to the thumb. And the holes on the sides of the vertebrae they pass through (radiating out from the spinal column to the body) are called foramen. When I got whacked, the whiplash caused the edges of those calcium holes to pinch the nerves, bruising them. He said that as I get older I might have trouble. Calcification can make the foramen shrink as time goes by, and the pinching can become chronic. He said steroids (I think) is the recommended treatment. I did some physical therapy, some kind of overpriced exercise thing that actually does help. You bend your neck certain ways to relieve pressure on the cervical nerves. Anyway, I was amazed that a neck injury one day could lead to intense thumb pain the next. Something to be aware of.

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: GUEST,I got one
Date: 13 Nov 07 - 06:37 PM

every once in awhile I get what feels like a bolt of lightning pain, on the left side of my neck, that quickly disappears as fast as it comes?????????

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: Peace
Date: 13 Nov 07 - 06:39 PM

Of course. It's lightning.

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: PoppaGator
Date: 14 Nov 07 - 04:36 PM

I was living with chronic shoulder pain for a couple of years, and finally got it fixed, very nicely, by an excellent acupuncturist.

I'm sure that a chiropractor would have helped in a similar manner, since the two disciplines approach body mobility from essentially the same point of view, significantly different from that of conventional western medicine.

I do not think, based on past experience, that chiropractic treatment would have fixed my problem quite so quickly and dramatically as did the acupuncture.

Of course, a lot probably depends upon the individual practitioner. I think I was very fortunate to stumble upon a very gifted person.

Subject: RE: BS: Shoulder twinges
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 15 Nov 07 - 06:49 AM

Patty - yours sounds exactly like mine and that was a frozen shoulder. The rotator cuff muscles at the top of the arm get damaged by injury (like shouldering open a door) or prolonged pressure (sleeping awkwardly on a hard surface did mine in) but they can be fixed with physio and corticosteroid injections. I had my first injection about 6 weeks ago and the difference was almost instant. I'm still having trouble with the 'bra strap' manouevre but everything else has returned to as normal as I ever was.

Little Hawk - you have to stop doing that thing you do or it'll never heal!

Guest -I got one - sounds like you have a trapped nerve. Go to a clinic and get it sorted by a physioterrorist - a GP probably isn't the right person to deal with that.

LTS