[dagma1]

Hi all,

Was rear ended by 2 vehicles in late March of this year, have posted before about the terrible problems from a concussion but I've also had awful pain in my left shoulder, PT improved the range of motion greatly but the pain is still there, always throbbing but pain especially when I lift my arm up and across my torso.

My Dr. sent me for an MRI without the dye and I have the results and wonder if anyone can decipher it for me?

The subacromial-subteltoid bursa contains a tiny amount of fluid compatible with minimal bursitis.

Rotator cuff tendons have minimal to mild amount of poorly marginated increased intermediate signal compatible with minimum to mild tendinopathy.

The acromioclavicular articulation has mild arthritis.

Acromion has mild lateral downsloping effacing the subacromial laterally.

Rotator tendons are without significant fluid signal tear identified.

When my family Dr. read the results he said..."You are fine, take ibuprofen..."

Well, no I don't feel fine, my shoulder hurts and some days are worse than others.

Anyone have any advice? it hurts to put my arm over my head, when I pick a drink up etc.

Thank you for any help.

[Mark in Idaho]

dagma,

I have had shoulder problems. Most PT's push for range of motion. This only made things worse. I finally found a PT who explained how the muscles and tendons work. She taught me how to safely use my shoulder and what movements to avoid. I took the conservative approach and restricted my use. It took a year or more of discipline to allow my shoulder to heal. A very important issue was sleeping. I had to stop sleeping on my side, especially on the bad shoulder. I learned to sleep on my back with my hands on my belly. This allowed my shoulder to not be traumatized and the tendons stretched during sleep.

Learning the shoulder exercise where you pull your shoulders back and down as it you are trying to make the scapula (shoulder wings) touch together was helpful.

There are now orthopedists who specialize in shoulders. You may be able to get a referral to a good shoulder PT. There may even be an Athletic Trainer who can help you rehab your shoulder. It will take discipline on your part to get improvement.

I spent a year or more not raising my hand over my head nor throwing a baseball. It was worth the sacrifice.

My best to you.

[Brainstemmed]

with my shoulder, i have the same problem with almost all of what you are describing...

i think i hurt my shoulder the week after my brain injury while in bed trying to roll over and trying to do it in a way to avoid any movement of my head or neck, thus leveraging the muscles in my shoulder way too much, and i think it caused some damage to my rotator cuff, biceps ligament or a tendon...

an MRi shows curvature of the bone, which can lead to pain...

i cannot lift a thing unless my arm is right next to my body, and while there, i cannot move my extended hand out...picture both hands in front of your body as if you were praying, then spreading your hands out with your elbows touching your side...my right will go far to the right , but my left cannot go past straight out...

i cannot lift my left arm above my head....only slightly better when someone else tries to move it for me...

if i move it too far...knee-buckling, blood curdling, screaming paid for 1-2 minutes...this happens 4-5 times daily...

the MRi reveals slight fraying of both a tendon and a ligament, my theory is from moving it past the curved bone and 'catching it' over and over...the bursa sac is inflamed and causing pain severe as well...

of course, all of the above is my theory and my explanation and not done very well medically and may be inaccurate with my terminology...

the docs at my crappy HMO - Kaiser Permanente in Denver - have given me 2 steroid injections, the last of which was deep and low on my shoulder providing me with pain relief, but i can tell there is an injury there...and once the steroids wear off, it seems to me it can only be painful once again...

on consult, one surgeon recommended surgery to tidy up the tendon and / or ligament that has frayed...

another surgeon on 2nd opinion told me this is 'frozen shoulder', no surgery is needed and physical therapy will be necessary for 12-24 months with daily exercises...

although i had not heard of 'frozen shoulder' before this, it seems to make some sense...i have had no choice but to be very inactive for the last 6 months...

here is some info from Mayo clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fro...oulder/DS00416

my problem with the diagnosis is this...this happened to me in the week after my brain stem concussions and has become worse over time...this happened to me instantly...i knew i had hurt it right away...'frozen shoulder' happens over a long period of inactivity...

i am seeking yet a 3rd opinion on whether or not to do a surgery...i believe most of the surgeries for something like this can be done artrhoscopically, but it is possible of a general anesthesia surgery, which is most definitely NOT something i want to do as i struggle mightily with my daily life...i had a surgery 7 years ago and it seemed as though it took 2 months to shake the anesthesia...and 6 month post-brain injury, this is not an option...

3rd opinion is to come from a respected ortho, outside of the Kaiser Permanente network, and therefore, paid out of pocket...and if they recommend surgery, most likely, Kaiser will refuse to pay...

i dunno if any of this helps except sharing notes with each other might help us figure out what the heck to do...

so i hope this has been helpful...

any advice would be welcome.

Brainstemmed

[BentBrain]

WOW ! I suffered with a terribly painful shoulder with limited ROM for 1.5 yrs. PT said it was a sprain. Pushed me through FCE with a 35# weight over head level. I turned white and dropped the wt. Then I was told "This won't look good on your FCE report. ATTY got involved. Had MRI Arthrogram (with contrast). My rotator cuff was destroyed and I had a "S.L.A.P. Tear" Required a 2.5 hr surg. LONG PT. I'm told it my take months to a year + to be reasonably functioal. EYES WIDE OPEN !

[dagma1]

Thank you everyone. Sorry you are experiencing this awful pain.

Mark, yes, lying on the left shoulder kills me, have to literally grab hold of it with my right hand and pull myself on to my back or right side.

Some days are worse than others with this pain and I'm not doing anything different, I lifted weights before the accident and haven't since as that's a big no no with the PT. Also, when I was in PT talk about pain afterwards!!!!

Brainstemmed, you have/are really going through so much, I am so sorry.
I know I should not consult "Dr. Google" but I see many people who had the MRI for shoulder pain and the results were totally negative, went back for another and that one showed injury. Maybe another MRI would be useful for you, not sure if your first one had the contrast.

Bentbrain, did you have an MRI without the contrast at anytime? wondering if the contrast works better? sorry for all your pain, that's a very long time for you to suffer.