Very interesting you ask ....

Chemo brought me pn and joint pain. Month after stopping chemo, I instantly had pain in both shoulders. Went to have MRIs, they told me I had bursitis in both shoulders and wanted rush to surgery. I kept saying "I had no shoulder problem my whole life, and now all of a sudden after chemo I have shoulder problems", don't you think this is connected?"

Got back ..... "dunno, we're just shoulder surgeons", (ie. just be quiet, don't ask us anything we don't know and give us your money for shoulder surgery) and then "okay, if you won't do that let us just shoot you with cortisone" (i.e. at least give us a little money and go away, leave us alone for people we can talk into surgery). Went to Rheumatologists, primary care, etc, asked the same question, took inflammation tests, got back the same answer and tests didn't show anything abnormal.

On my own, I've decided that pn, joint pain, inflammation is all interrelated.

For me, I don't think injections and surgery solves the source of the problem.

So I've decided to do a few things,

First I've decided to decrease total inflammation in my body with diet and supplements (still working that out).

Then I decided to help my body carry itself in a healthier way. I found an excellent physio and did the work to build up all the muscles and way I hold my body, so that there was more room in my shoulders and they weren't pinching muscles / nerves. This made a huge difference and soon there was much less discomfort, but there is still a small amount occasionally lingering.

Also, I am waiting for my surgical menopause to slowly find it's balance (lots of studies show hormone changes, causes shoulder pain due to temporary inflammation).

My approach is very slow but it seems to be working and feels like the true, right direction.

In the end I will try the cortisone if my "correct the problem at it's source" doesn't work, and then if down the road that doesn't work, then I will go for the surgery.

For some cortisone nips the problem in the bud, for others it does nothing, for others they have to do it several times, some do that and it still doesn't work.

When I did my research, I read warnings that it shouldn't be done too much, it can damage the tendons/things nearby and find a really good doctor who does lots of them. I read some stories of people who just did it once and it permanently weakened a tendon,though for most this isn't the case. If I do it, I am going to choose a doctor who does it by watching what he is doing on some type of imaging to make sure he really reaches the spot rather than someone who just sticks a needle in where he guesses it should go.

Perhaps I am unnecessarily taking the circular route and a quick cortisone shot would have done the trick and I could've moved on (I kinda doubt it, though).

However, I believe most of modern medicine is unthinkingly geared towards what is profitable and cost effective for them. I've already suffered enough from damage done by modern medicine. Also, I am a believer in "Do no harm (don't screw up the problem even more).

Mostly I am believer of really getting at the source of the true fundamental problem, solving that, and building the bigger, core long-term solution that sends me in a completely different direction of health so the problem doesn't just come back in another form.

Hope this helps,

Natalie