Left shoulder...

[EERP]

Hey, I've been starting to feel a dull ache near the edge of my shoulder (or around that area, it's hard to pinpoint) after certain motions yet I'm NOT experiencing clicking, popping, or pain to the level where I can't move my shoulder. This is only happening in the left shoulder and I have no clue to as why it's happening...

Is there something I can do before this develops into something bigger?? Or is this just not a big deal?

thanks alot, tom

 

[SurfDoc]

Just a dull ache? That makes it hard to figure. It could be a zillion things. Have you tried anything. Ice, heat? Massage? Advil or tylenol?
BenGay cream? Glucosamine/chondroitin sulfate?
Rest?

 

[bettterdayz]

I've tried tynelol, mineral ice, and application of ice last night but I don't think it has done much.

I guess I shouldn't have described it as a dull ache. The thing is it's not a sharp pain, it's an annoying sensation I feel after moving the shoulder in certain ways...?? Any advice??

Thanks

 

[bettterdayz]

Expecting it to go away overnight was stupid as well I guess... I'm continuing to apply ice and stretching is helping.. is this a bothered (injured) tendon or another type of muscle or something?

 

[tdubya]

It's most likely tendonitis. You want to handle it before it gets worse. If you let it go you'll be out of the water for many months. There are a lot of good websites devoted to self treatment. The best thing is to go to the doc (orthopedic guy). Let him clue you in. I've been through the whole mess. It gets very complicated if you ignore it.

tw

 

[Fuller]

I just had an MRI on my right shoulder - possible rotator cuff injury. I had kinda just lived with the pain since last Sept but it was getting pretty sore. I get the results in a couple of days - I'll check in later with some armchair advice.

 

[SurfDoc]

Most shoulder injuries other than your simple bumps and bruises often take several weeks if not months to improve.

Sure you can try all the interventions previously mentioned, you could even go to your local doc. However, unless you need some sort of "repair" even the doctor's medicines and cortisone injections rarely assist in a quick recovery. Any non-improving shoulder should prompt further investigation, eg, MRI.

 

[bettterdayz]

Oh God.. several weeks to months!?!?!?!

Wow, what do you suggest I do about my surfing? If i'm supposed to resist from surfing for that long I guess I'll just risk problems later on in life...

I'm only 16 I don't know if this could be an overuse problem or something. I've never experienced something like this. The pain is very slight, just so annoying because I always think it's getting better but there's that little ache after i move my arms above a certain point or in a certain direction..

Thanks alot guys, keep replying please!

 

[bettterdayz]

And also.. what type of injuries do MRIs reveal for shoulders?

 

[Fuller]

OK, I got the MRI done - kind of a freaky experience 'cause you have to keep very still and not panic while they stuff you in a tube and the machine goes clunk, clunk, clunk and they give you a little thingy to squeeze that tells them to stop the machine and come and get your sorry ass out of their torture chamber but you don't want to be a ***** and besides, you would have to do it all over again anyway.

Well, you get the picture.

My shoulder is fine, no tears, just some tendonitis. Doc gave me 25mg Vioxx which works great for me and the Theraband excersise routine which I keep forgetting to do.

Oh betterdayz, MRI's can detect soft tissue injuries that an x-ray can't see. It helps to have good insurance coverage.

 

[EERP]

That's cool man.. I tried some rotator cuff strengthening exercises like the paddling motion, at a very slow pace, everyday at night and now I no longer have pain... for now.. so that's pretty cool. Caught it early, I guess..

Now I have to worry about that damned foot problem

 

[umbu]

I have had problems with my left shoulder. At first it was just an annoying feeling while paddling but then I thought I could feel the bones rubbing against each other as the shoulder rotated. My own estimate is that I didn´t stretch enough, and as the shoulder muscles grew they brought the collar- and shoulder bone closer to each other and began to erode. Soon surfing became painful and now the MRI shows that both bones are rough from the rubbing. I am scheduled for an operation where both bones will lose a couple of millimeters. Hopefully things will be ok after that.

But I truly believe I brought this on my self from being a lazy stretcher.