Last night, I was gathering up laundry for my mom to do for me. (she thinks that I'll break her washing machine, so she gets mad if I try to do it myself)

I had put a bunch of clothes (mostly t-shirts) into a large plastic bucket that we use for laundry. It was overflowing with clothes, and when I went to pick it up, it was way too heavy for me. I got it an inch or two off the floor and decided to lighten the load.

About 20 minutes later, my right shoulder started to hurt. This morning, around 6 or 7, the pain in my shoulder woke me up. And now it's so painful I want to scream.

The pain is coming from the back of my shoulder blade (near the spine actually) and it's going thru my shoulder and my armpit, and it's going down my arm to my wrist. (earlier the pain was only at the elbow...it's getting worse)

I cant believe I hurt myself just from trying to lift a bucket of clothes. I can lift my arm straight up, and I can move it behind me without any pain, but if I reach forward, or if I reach forward while raising my arm up, it hurts like crazy!

I wonder if I have spasticity in my shoulders or some sort of weakness there, and that's why this hurts so much. It's even making my neck hurt. If I turn my head to the right, I get really bad pains running thru my neck and spine. (I do have a lesion at C4, which is about where the pain is)

I hope I can still crochet and knit with this, otherwise I'm going to go nuts. My dad (a nurse anesthetist) thinks I did the same thing he did last month to his shoulder by trying to lift something too heavy. (in his case, it was a bag of water softener salt...40 pounds worth)

Hello Erin,
It could be a number of things, and I really am not knowledgable enough to say, but I would start on some sort of anti-inflammatory drug now, and ice it for the first 24 hours, and then try some heat tomorrow. Don't keep it in the same position as it will have a tendency to become stiff. If you do have a muscle relaxant try taking it. If not give it over the weekend, and then perhaps be in touch with an Orthopaedist. I'm sorry you're hurting.

Feel better quickly,
Chris

I am not a nurse.. but I dress up as one on certain dates I was wondering if maybe your muscles were just tight and you have a muscle pull??

http://www.googobits.com/articles/p0...bout-them.html

I hope you feel better soon and that pain goes away!

I guess it's a good thing that I save the gelpacks that they ship with my Copaxone to keep it cool. (last shipment, I got a nice styrofoam cooler with it...big enough to put a six-pack of pop in) I probably have about 10 of those in my freezer...and one thawed one in my drug fridge.

It's hot outside, so maybe laying on an icepack would feel good on my shoulder.

My dad thinks the basket I tried to lift was just too heavy for me. Even after taking the clothes I wanted to wash out, it's still heavy. He just looked at the bucket and just couldnt believe how heavy it was and it didnt have as much in it as it did when I lifted it.

It's really sad how out of shape I am. I used to be able to lift multiple bolts of fabric that were tied together before I checked it into the fabric department at the Walmart I used to work at. Denim fabric is really heavy.

Maybe it's time I start working out? (after my shoulder heals)

I wish I had thought of that!

(Sorry Erin )

Cherie

I'm not a nurse, but I come from a long line of them.

My dad and his late brother are/were CRNA's (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists)

My uncle's widow is a Nurse Practitioner.

My dad's father was a Licensed Practical Nurse.

And the tradition continues. My uncle's daughter is a Registered Nurse.

My other cousin (from another aunt) is a paramedic and going to Anesthesia school to be a CRNA.

My sister and I both didnt want to be anywhere near blood or sick people, so we passed up the chance to be nurses.