Shoulder hurts...

[S10xGN]

I hate to whine after seeing what others here are going through, just looking for some "home doctoring". Back in August I was lifting a rather large hood by myself. My arms were outstretched, I had the front of the hood balanced on my hip, and when I lifted it there was pain in my right shoulder. Here it is three months later and very little relief, I can barely lift my right arm and cannot hold any weight with it outstretched. It also hurts when I cross my right arm over, like when I'm washing my left armpit. It's more when my arm is out away from my body that I'm useless...

Any ideas on what I wrecked? I've got a physical coming up in a few weeks but my doc will just take a bunch of x-rays and send me to someone else...

 

[Phoneguy]

Rotator cuff...possibly

Bryan

 

[charlief1]

My shoulder pops out of joint on a regular basis and what you're describing was what happened the first time. You need to go to a doc to make sure what's happend but if you dislocated it and it's been going on this long it'll hurt like a bitch when it's poped back in. Hope I'm wrong but either way you still need to get it looked at Russ.

 

[MaxVO2]

Torn or damaged supraspinatus muscle (one of the four rotator cuff muscles). It is also possible you have damaged the labrum surrounding the shoulder socket given how long you have had your pain. Go see a doctor as your condition is unlikely to get better without some type of medical intervention. It almost sounds like your shoulder subluxated (almost dislocated..) or popped out for a second and popped back in.

In Buick parlance: It is kind of like blowing a head gasket in the sense that you will not be able to use the arm properly until you fix what got damaged as the rotator cuff helps to stabilize and hold the arm bone in the socket throughout normal range of motion. If this system is injured, the major movers of the shoulder generally work (unless severely damaged..you would know this by severe unrelenting pain..) but the initial stabilization and initiation of movement is done by the 4 small muscles of the rotator cuff which makes them very important for normal shoulder function.

Get looked at, and good luck. I've broken my collarbone before and damaged the rotator cuff and have to do some movement exercises to keep from stiffening up even years after the injury.

 

[S10xGN]

I'm pretty sure it didn't dislocate (I've had my right knee do that 2x's, this shoulder pain is nowhere near that level) and no swelling either. When I hold my arm straight out like I'm pointing at something, I can feel some "pull" on the outside of my bicep. Oddly enough, the most comfortable position is with my arm up overhead (which is pretty hard to do for any length of time) but it does give some temporary relief...

 

[Bruce Urie]

My left shoulder hurts like yours.....but this is only because my wife beats on it with the frying pan.....

But seriously, I have the same problem........it could be you've overstretched some ligaments, or tore them in some way.....back in '07 I fell four feet straight onto solid concrete.....tore some ligaments and still they bother me today if I overdo it, as with the hood opening thing......you've got to be aware now of what you do and how you use your arms.....have to stop and think about it before just being human and doing it right away........I just ripped/twisted my left leg and it's killing me.........I think it's torn ligaments again....takes a long time to heal, and the more you soak it in warm cloths, use it less, the faster it'll heal...........yes, the doctor will have x-rays of it, you'll glow in the dark for a few days (so your wife will have no problem finding you at night) but the visit will be a peace of mind thing for you to exactly determine what the problem is..........WARNING! On this forum, WE ARE ALL DOCTORS!!!!!

Bring up this injury on your upcoming physical and don't be shy about telling exactly how it feels and how you hurt it.........more details helps the doc determine the problem and pinpoint it.......like examining a V-6 for lost compression...........is it the rings or the valve seals....capishe?

I hope you'll get to feeling better.........other than marriage, living with pain is no fun.....oh, God, if my wife saw that!!!!!!!!1 Gotta Go Quick!!!

Bruce '87 Grand National

 

[S10xGN]

Bruce, I know you're one hurtin' dude, thanks for the reply. I haven't tried hot packs, I've been using "Biofreeze" which gives some relief but nothing on the cure side. I'll try it!

 

[Bruce Urie]

Bruce, I know you're one hurtin' dude, thanks for the reply. I haven't tried hot packs, I've been using "Biofreeze" which gives some relief but nothing on the cure side. I'll try it!

One hurtin' dude, you're right.........but you left out: ugly, too. Yeah, give that stuff a try, but most of all try and not do too much for a while until that arm feels better.........I left out the part about not letting my arm heal properly and started dropping the front axle, pulling the bottom of my '88 Jeep engine apart to put in new oil seals, oil pump, etc.....torqued up the main cap bolts at 80 foot pounds and I felt a hard snap, lightning bolt pain......woo, it hurt....took about one year to heal, then I get smart and fall down on concrete.....see....I just love pain, you know? I see you are "retired". So am I, but, it'll kill you, too....ask me how I know....let us know how your doctor visit worked out, OK? Hang in there and get old gracefully!

Bruce '87 Grand National