Posted on 01/11/2019 9:32:29 AM PST by fireman15
Some shoulder conditions may become more common as you age.
You probably don't think about your shoulders much, until you suddenly experience pain in one of them. Shoulder pain can make a simple act — brushing and drying your hair, reaching behind your back to fasten a bra, or grabbing something overhead — seem like a monumental task.
As you age, you're more likely to experience shoulder pain from a variety of common conditions. "Shoulder problems are very common," says Dr. Arun Ramappa, associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Harvard Medical School. The pain can come on gradually or abruptly, and it may range from mild to excruciating. Below are some of the most common conditions you may encounter, and some tips for how to address them.
Your rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that help tether your shoulder into the socket and allow you to move it in a circular motion. Some two million people visit a doctor each year for rotator cuff–related issues, according to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery (AAOS). Most problems with the rotator cuff fall into two categories: tears or inflammation. Suspect a rotator cuff problem if you have pain or stiffness in your shoulder when you lift your arm above your head to brush your hair or when you reach behind your back. "You won't be able to do a lot of things you want to do, such as put dishes in an upper cabinet, play tennis, or do garden pruning," says Dr. Ramappa.
(Excerpt) Read more at health.harvard.edu ...
Rheumatoid arthritis does run in my family. If I try to play racquetball or tennis, my right elbow is a mess next day. I get some stiffness when doing a lot of hammering or chopping also. But most other activities like running or bicycling or stacking wood do not seem to bother me.
Yes,indeed,they are for me!! I’ve had pain in my left shoulder ever since I was in high school. I’m thinking it is from some type of genetic flaw. I used to work as a machinist in a shop that made assault rifle parts and had to rinse baskets of dirty parts by dunking them up and down in buckets of water. All of that repetition and other activities there led to severe pain in both of my shoulders which took forever to ease off. It wasn’t until I started doing several pushups a day that my shoulders finally stopped hurting on a regular basis. I started off with just 5 or so and built up until I can do as many as I feel like doing. The pushups probably helped with whatever genetic weakness that I have in that area. I can sleep on my side now without constant pain!! Yay pushups!!!!
Two whiplashes. It’s really hard to find a good chiropractor or physical therapist. I use homeopathic remedies for recurring pain. Arnica gel or cream on the site, dissolve a couple of arnica tabs under your tongue.
I always prefer trying the simplest solution first.
“”reaching behind your back to fasten a bra,””
Good grief - can any woman do that? Not since about age 20 or so!!! Forget it!
Beware frozen shoulder syndrome... Had problems for a couple of months right shoulder...if I held my arm straight out to my side,I could not raise my arm....if I held it straight out in front of me..no problem. Don’t wait it will always get worst. Go for physical therapy
I've never been able to sleep on my stomach.
Other peoples stomachs... No problem!
...and the other oDD thing about frozen should syndrome.... within a year or so,expect the other shoulder to act up....you’ll know the familiar pain..don’t wait..
6 years ago, my much abused right rotator cuff went bonkers re the pain.
Turned out, at age 74 I didn’t have a right rotator cuff any after a MRI and an Xray series was done on that shoulder.
My option was a steroid shot into where my former rotator cuff used to live or a complex surgery.
I opted for the steroid shot and PT.
The shot lasts about 12 months and now at age 80, I have a little more common sense re what not to do and what to do with that shoulder and how to use PT.
We know a lot of people in their late 50’s or early 60’s who have had successful rotator cuff restorative surgery. Make sure that your surgeon has a record of over 50 operations and does them on a regular basis with a regular surgery team and PT followup.
If he t was a torn rotator cuff you wouldn’t be healing this quickly.! I had one and it took weeks to get pain free.
Get to the doctor ASAP, and favor it in the meantime. He should refer you to an orthopedic doctor who will treat you by non-surgical means, IF POSSIBLE, and/or a physical therapist, or an orthopedic surgeon who will treat you by surgical means. At some point along the way at least one of the above, probably the first orthopedic guy/lady you see, will want an MRI of your shoulder so be prepared for that.
Doing push-ups, etc, will only serve to aggravate torn shoulder muscles.
BTW until you get in to see your doctor, I've been told that Tylenol is the best OTC anti-inflammatory and pain relief for this type of injury.
Again, I'm not a medical professional but from what I hear you saying it's almost exactly the same experience as mine.
Good luck with it.
Bkmrk
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-1051/gelatin
Jelo is a protein made from moo-cow viscera.
I also take condroiten/msm tabs.
Lift weights. Especially upper body. You don’t have to power lift; just do a lot of reps with 10 pounders.
Your traps, pecs, biceps and deltoid muscles hold all of your upper body joints together. If those muscles are not tight and toned, your joints are free to travel, particularly in a fall or with occasional stress like cleaning the garage or shoveling snow. This results in damage to connective tissue and a whopping bill from the surgeon.
So grab some small weights and work up to a couple hundred reps per muscle group. Your shirts will fit differently too, which is nice.
Bookmark
A doctor’s diagnosis is critical.
If the problem is FROZEN SHOULDER (inflamed capsule), surgery will most likely not help.
7 years ago I had this condition and saw a Physical Therapist for 6 months to “unfreeze” the shoulder through periodic and painful manipulation. I accelerated what would have been an 18 month recovery to 6 months by daily HANGING from my children’s monkey bars in the back yard. (I also installed a pull up bar in the pantry door frame as an option for inclement weather). It hurt to hang, but afterwards the shoulder “glowed” and pain was substantially reduced and range of motion increased.
The hanging (brachiation) reduced my recovery by a year. I informed the PT about my research and augmentation of her therapy and got NO objections.
It wouldn’t hurt to rule it out, especially considering your family history.
With my RA, I have little to no swelling, so no one thought to check for autoimmune disorders until I presented to the ER two weeks in a row with excruciating pain - first in the right shoulder and arm, and the next week it was in the left shoulder and arm.
With x-rays being negative, they questioned me and examined my arms for needle marks to make sure I wasn’t seeking drugs, then sent me on my way. The second ER visit, I was referred to a rheumatologist - and by the time she had diagnosed me, my inflammation was off the charts and my arms and legs were almost frozen from the pain and barely able to walk.
Believe me, you don’t want to wait for it to hit you that way.
My shoulder is still hurting from August bicycle accident. Will probably have to get MRI soon.
I play senior softball and you wouldn’t believe the number of diehards who have had shoulder surgeries (my best friend had three or four on same shoulder), knee replacements, hip replacements and are still playing....
Oh, I duno. If you are someone no one has ever heard of; you've got possibilities when it comes to the Mariners. They will just call you a "prospect".
I know the pain. I had Rotator Cuff surgery after taking a fall coming UP a step. Yes, it is possible. LOL
It was torn much worse than the physician thought it was; found that out after the surgery.
About 2, maybe 3 months later, tripped coming up the same darn step! Did I go back to the physician? Heck, no. I just babied the shoulder, and though it ‘twinges,’ everynow and then, I’m okay.
Turns out the underlying cause was muscle/skeleton weakness from a medication I was on which was causing my feet to not be lifting correctly. Saw a specialist for the tripping and after stopping a medication, I’m walking much better.
My beloved was speechless after the 2nd tripping incident, especially as he was literally watching me go face down. Cannot blame the guy; first thoughts when a woman is hurt is to suspect the spouse. Poor guy! Since I’ve gone to the same physician for years, she knows it would most likely be a case of me putting my beloved in the hospital just to get him on a diet. LOL
Never would have thought, though, something as simple as lifting your should would impact a person.
Youth as most of us spoilt, huh?
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