Posted on 06/19/2007 3:25:37 PM PDT by alpha-8-25-02
Carolyn
Prayers for MamaB!
The injection is probably cortisone. I hope that helps. I pray that MamaB finds relief from the pain. If surgery is required, I pray for the doctors who will perform it as well as MamaB.
Praying this Morning for your Quick Healing and Relief from Pain.
I just wanted to say thanks for the prayers. I wanted to update y’all. I have a doctor’s appt in B’ham Monday with my surgeon. We all think I will have to have surgery again and that is all I need. My arm hurts from the middle of the shoulder down to my finger tips. It has been keeping me from sleeping. Do y’all know how hard it is to type when it feels like your arm and hand are on fire? Not very easy! Thanks again.
Tell her to have her neck checked too. I have a torn rotator cuff and that doesn’t give me pain down to my fingers. I have a couple bulging disks in my neck however, and THAT does. The pain running down that far to your fingers is almost certainly nerve pain, not ligament pain (as in rotator cuff tears). I have to be pretty careful not to aggravate them. An MRI should be able to show the discs.
I suppose it’s possible that inflamed rotator cuff tears may put pressure on the nerve that goes down to the fingers, but it seems unlikely. I also have a chronically inflamed tendon or fascia or something on the back of my shoulder blade that tends to ache all the way down to between the carpal bones. That I think is inflamed tendon and muscle pressing on nerves. It’s irritating because it takes so little to get it going. (e.g. driving a car or the lawn tractor, sleeping wrong, etc.) and so much babying to get it to settle down.
Physical therapy was a great help to show me how far back I *wasn’t* keeping my shoulders! (voi!!! But letting them hang too far forward causes the nerves and everything in there to be subject to too much pinching/pressure) and to build up the rest of the muscles so that the injured ones don’t take so much stress, while minimizing side effects like headache and shoulder pain. But it’s a pain to have to keep up with it.
Even though you’re in a sling, make sure you keep the area motile or you’ll end up with frozen shoulder. That’s why I’d recommend getting your doc to recommend physical therapy. You need to keep the shoulder range of motion going while it’s healing but without causing further irritation. That’s not always easy.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.