Tendonitis - Arm and Shoulder

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Cinq

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Hi,

I was involved in a minor car crash a few months back and a few weeks after began to develop severe pain in the left shoulder and left arm. Since the onset, I have not slept through the night without waking up in agony at least 2-3 times. I have seen two GPs and one physio, first GP merely referred me on and advised I had strained my left trapezoid (sp?). The physio confirmed the same and recommended some exercises.

These have not helped at all and if anything, the pain is much worse. I thus saw a second GP who advised I had tendonitis and recommended taking ibuprofen 3-4 times a day, swimming and some other exercises.

I don't know whether I am just being impatient but I am not seeing any results and it is very frustrating. I can claim some free health benefits through work, such as a chiropractor or physio work. Would these be advisable?

Thanks for reading
 
honestly? the only real true way you are ever going to fully even know just what is going on withinn that shoulder is by obtaining an MRI on that shoulder/rotator cuff area? anything just IS possible when impacted by the effects of an MVA, even at low speed? it kind of also depenRAB upon just what may have already been more underlying there PRE MVA that was that one trigger needed to even create the symptoms you are feeling right now? this just 'sounRAB' like more than "just' tendonitis to me, which was also found in my rotator cuff MRI along with a fully snapped top tendon and a partial tear in the one directly below that one too. and i had NO CLUE that my shoulder was THAT bad pre MRI. this just would show whats up and also best dictate what ANY next best steps should be for you right now too. this may even be paid by either your actual auto ins or if this was another persons fault, their auto ins and not medical since it all stemmed FROM an MVA? but i would get an MRI done there if at all possible. you can have a ton of actual damage within that rotator cuff(it just take ALOT of daily ongoing abuse) and simply not even realize how well that rotator has started to kind of "bypass' certain ROMS? its simply compensating and usually we do not notice it when its only subtle, but still there? this is just something that does NEED a more in depth type of test to really 'see' into that area right now. hopefully it will show the underlying issues there that can be repaired, if needed these days pretty easily. good luck and do keep me posted, Marcia
 
Thank you for the in-depth response. I guess I went to the doctor a little in the dark about the potential for what actually have happened so wasn't really able to query why he seemed quite passive about the injury.

I will be going back this week however, to request something a little stronger than ibuprofen for the night time. At least during the day I can stand up and move about if the pain becomes too but at night when you just want to sleep, exercises are the last thing on your mind.

Is it only clear what course of action is best once I have had an MRI? I.E physio, a chiropractor, surgery etc etc?
 
in my opinion, very MUCH yes. while certain types of PT can actually help you, when you actually have a certain level of real damage, which alot of people wont even find out til they have actually tried PT and their pain either becomes much worse, or does not get any better.THAT is when most docs wait to actually finally do that MRI that if it had been done from the beginning, things may not have become worse, or an arthroscopic surgical procedure could have taken care of it? if PT is done when there just IS very real damage to any of the many tendons, ligaments or muscles, the repairs needed could also end up being alot more invasive too?

only because i was getting shoulder pain off and on for many years, i knew i had "something" going on in my shoulder that would usually flare up on me with heavy lifting or overuse of the shoulder, like lots of vacuuming (reptitive motion stuff?) i waited to really ever get this fully checked out? it was not til my very top tendon called the "supraspinatus(the MOST commonly impacted or torn one since it takes the most overall abuse)just snapped in half one fine morning when only lifting my purse off the top of the fridge and i felt something 'let go' and HAD to drop the purse in mid lift since i immediately lost that particular ROM, and i did go to my primary who tried to then run me thru all the normal ROMS and either i just could not move it that way or the pain was horrid that i was finally sent for that very revealing MRI. that showed ALOT of overall wear and tear type injuries, bone spurs, one IN my joint, and of course the actually torn tendons too.

like i said above, i simply had no clue that all that was going on inside my shoulder area at all til that MRI really showed it all. but when it comes to PT, you always need to gear that to the level of injury or damage, which you can find 'some" of with a good doc who does really know how to fully check out ROMS(not all do, trust me)but then there is the damage that will not always show itself unless it is actually 'seen" upon a good MRI type scan too? its just much harder to try and treat what you do NOT know what you actually even have?

just doing that one scan would show whether or not you should actually be doing nothing and have it in a sling, which is what they did for this shoulder many years ago when i developed bursitis, just did moist heat and ibu then and it did get better, but ONLY by NON use? or if you may need at least some level of repair for what is NOW "just" a tear into a particular tendon well before that sucker fully tears then snaps on you like mine did?

sooo much diagnostic info can so easily be found with one rotator cuff MRI than trying PT in many different ways only to obtain no real relief and continue to suffer with ongoing damge as long as you have to keep using that arm/shoulder every single day that could be easy to fix now vs waiting til things get much worse and deeper surgery is needed like mine was. it just makes sense to actually look "into' an area to simply see what it is you are dealing with here first and go from there?

trying to 'treat appropriately' what you simply do NOT even know yet what you have, really does not always work real well for the patient. just tell your doc that "i want to actually 'know' what i have wrong before we continue on with any other forms of PT or other referrals". that MRI just WILL fully determine what 'your' real neeRAB actually are. good luck with this and do keep me posted as to what you finally find out. FB
 
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