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Old 07-21-2015, 01:12 AM
jzp119 jzp119 is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Canada
Posts: 66
8 yr Member
jzp119 jzp119 is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Canada
Posts: 66
8 yr Member
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SnappleofDiscord View Post
Hey! Welcome to the crappy club that apparently doesn't exist.
Your dull ache, desire to lop off your ow arm for escape, and neck pulling sounds Real familiar to me. And forgetting what it was like to be human once.
I hope you find help soon, but just steel up to do a lot of self advocating, and convincing doctors that it actually Does friggin hurt. There are surprisingly few docs that are familiar with winged scapula outside of text books.

I have a very similar issue, a totally debilitating TOS that began after dislocating my arm and developing a really intense winged scaupla. I could hold oranges under the damn thing if I could control the muscles around it. It looked like a shark fin. It could have also been my unguided weight training, extensive backpacking, carrying kayaks on my shoulder, working as a jeweler, or stage tech where I would hold about 100 lbs over my head for a few hours. Hard to tell, and it's taken me 2 years of no longer being able to do daily care to begin convincing doctors it's real. SICK scapula diagnoses, chronic dislocation, TOS, and it spread to my left arm about a year in my desperate pleas for help. I just had capsular plication surgery to make my shoulder stop popping out and winging, but the PT to regain my range of motion further irritated my nerve issues, and now it's Winging again! AH!

Did any direct trauma or dislocation precede this?
What sort of shoulder MRI did you get? (No contrast or arthogram?)
What was tested on your EMG?
Where is/what do you mean by scapular depression?(The depression sounds worrisome as possible wasting. As crappy as that is, it Will give doc a definite thing to trace back to the source of the issue)
What sort of doctors have you seen thus far?
Do you have pain and cramping under your arm? Around your scapula? Between both scapulas?

Now.. It's totally possible that the winged scapula itself is contributing to the issue, especially if it's winging medial and turning upward, your shoulder rolling forward. This could your clavicle to narrow and compress your brachial plexus on your first rib (that's my deal). It does kind of put things in this crappy cycle where you can't control the muscles to pull back your shoulder, so it rolls forward compressing the space and aggrevating you scalenes, which irritates the nerves that allow you to pull back your shoulder.
However, it may not be the root of your issue. If it's been going on so long you may have developed other compressions or muscle hypertrophy in your neck. For me, all the the PTs I saw to try and get my scap to sit down made the issues with scalenes WAY worse.

My research material on this subject has become quite extensive in my years of trying to find some answers, but I'll dig up some of the most relevant ones for you soon.
Try to stick to scholarly articles if you can (google scholar is a gem) and check out Long Thoracic Nerve Injury and Quadrilateral Space Syndrome. Look in to your impingment theory as well (although it would likely be the impingment, which caused the winging, which made the symptoms more severe)

I have a few posts floating around on here about my battle with winged scapula hell, and Please feel free to hit me up with any questions or if you want to vent.
Hi!!!

Yes I did have an injury that sent me into this situation. I dislocated my shoulder multiple (like 20) times over the 6 years that I played linebacker when I was younger. I never had problems until I decided to finally go for the surgery and have my labrum repaired. After that surgery my good arm developed the dull ache of death and I haven't been able to shake it for 3 years. Like what the hell?

My shouder MRI was no contrast. I'm pretty sure that all of the issues in my shoulder that were found by my MRI are what cause the eternal dull ache.

My EMG tests were done to test "nerve conduction and velocity"

The scapular depression was something a random physiotherapist mentioned months ago. He said that my upper trap was likely extremely weak and strengthening it should alleviate my symptoms. I did, and still do upward shrugs to isolate my upper traps and they have helped a lot. Not even close to fixing the problem, but helped.

I have seen 3 massage therapists, 2 chiropractors, 3 general physicians, 4 physiotherapists, 2 ortho surgeons, and a neurologist.

Overall my pain is a consistent 3/10, I have not had less than a 3/10 since I was 17 years old. Sometimes the dull ache can decide to go nuts and get to a 5 or 6/10. I get sharp pains between my shoulder blades sometimes and my shoulders, neck, and scapulas all crack and pop and clunk. I hope its my winged scapula causing all this, that would mean that there is still a chance to have a normal fun life, I mean Jesus can't a guy just go lift weights with his friends? Also yes, the dull ache sometimes sits in my armpit and just drives me insane. I would say of all the different forms of discomfort that come with this injury, the dull ache is the king.

Thanks so much for contributing your experience to the thread. We will figure this out and hopefully one day have no need to even be on these forums.
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