[jnew40]

Hello,

My first post - allow me to give some background.

I woke up 6/12 years ago at 3am in the morning on the couch after falling asleep watching television with neck pain on the left side. I thought it was a charlie horse and would subside in a day or two. After a few weeks and no improvement, I went to see neurosurgeon that ordered an MRI and diagnosed me with a herniation at C6/C7. He stated that I would eventually need surgery, but to hold off for 5 years or so until the FDA approved artificial cervical discs. I agreed and in the meantime, did PT, Chiro, injections, etc.

With the pain still in existence, I decided earlier this year that I'd go back to the neuro to see about surgery. Before that, I got another MRI. To my surprise and disappointment, the herniation had healed - I say disappointment because for 6 years, I knew the cause of my pain - now I had no idea.

By this time, my shoulder blade started giving me trouble as well. I've got some winging and pain around it. It also sits higher than my right side. At times it feels unstable and feels like it wants to pop - I end up trying to roll it up and forward to make it feel better. I ended up going to see an ortho, who ordered an MRI of my scapula and shoulder and says he's almost positive that I have a torn labrum. When I asked if the torn labrum could cause all of the pain and issues I've had with my neck and scapula, he said that if other muscles had to make up for the lack of stability in my shoulder due to the tear, then absolutely.

I ended up going to another Ortho for a 2nd opinion and he didn't seem to think the labrum would cause this, but I found a study afterwards that said that a torn labrum could absolutely affect the way the scapula moves and sits on the rib cage. I'm now totally confused. My symptoms are now as follows:

Pain where neck and shoulder meet (left side).
Pain and burning in upper chest below collar bone (occasionally).
Pain around scapula
Occasional popping around scapula, but feels more like the ribs at times. If I lay down or sit in a recliner and get up, there's a popping.
Occasional pain and burning in back of shoulder.

I've often considered TOS, but I don't have some of the other symptoms I see mentioned. I don't have vascular problems. I don't have tingling or pain in my extremeties. I have on occasion a very light tingle in my shoulder blade that lasts a a minute or so and then it goes away. This happens maybe once a week and is barely noticeable.

So, a couple of questions -

Could a torn labrum cause the issues I'm experiencing?
Is it TOS in the absence of the symptoms I mentioned I'm lacking?

Thanks.

Jeff