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Rotator Cuff?
mezzapop
Registered User new member
Registered User new member
I am fairly certain-ish that I have a rotator cuff injury. I remember hurting my shoulder about a year ago, but it started feeling better so I didn't think much of it. However, pain is coming back and it is increasing. I still have all of the motion in my shoulder, but sometimes if i move it wrong, it will pop or I will feel pain. I am going to go into the doctor once we have some extra money, but in the meanwhile does anyone have any suggestions for me to keep it healthy or start toward healing? Maybe exercises or motions I should avoid?
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My mom injured her rotator cuff in a work incident. It was not a sometimes thing, but would often wake her in the night and if she did something to set it off, it would ache for the rest of the day.
However, I've had a fair number of minor injuries during my life that didn't go away -- sprained fingers, some back pain, some foot tenderness -- that seemed like it was becoming chronic. Things seemed fine and then I'd move a certain way and it would hurt, and then just be sensitive (not actually in pain by itself) for the rest of the day or so.
For many sports-related injuries like this, you can just take ibuprofen regularly (2 capsules 4 times a day, with meals) and it will go away after doing that for about two weeks. This isn't really a "cure" as it is allowing your body to heal, because ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory. Often these longer-term minor sprains are just inflamed muscles or tendons that never get a chance to fully heal, so avoiding re-injury and taking ibuprofen to deal with the inflammation patches it right up. Ibuprofen is also quite safe (take it with meals), so if you do it for two weeks and it's still in pain, you can at least tell the doctor "I took ibuprofen regularly for a couple weeks and avoided skateboarding during that period" when you then go to see the doc.
Again, I am not a doctor or nurse; I am just someone who has been prescribed ibuprofen by a doctor for a similar light injury, and it worked for me.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/shoulderinjuriesanddisorders.html
That being said, the odds are good that it is a rotator cuff injury. The severity of which dictates how it is treated. Given that you had pain in the shoulder a year ago and it went away points to a chronic injury. This will almost certainly be treated with physical therapy, probably even before an MRI is ordered. If your pain does not resolve with PT, they will probably order an MRI ($$$) to help with surgical planning, because that is the next step.
As to what you should do leading up to your doctor's appt, #1 is rest. For God's sake stop skateboarding, at least for now. The best way to take an injury that is non-op and make it operative is to reinjure it. Ice is not much benefit for a chronic injury, but if it helps your pain, it's fine. Just don't put the ice directly on your skin. Keep a thin towel between the ice and your skin. Also, elevation doesn't make much sense in a shoulder injury. It's done with distal extremity injuries, because return blood flow is more difficult the further from your core you are, so gravity helps. Again, chronic injuries typically aren't too swollen, so elevation isn't really necessary. Same with compression.
Take ibuprofen or naproxen for pain as they are anti-inflammatory. If your injury is more of a tendonitis instead of a frank tear, the central cause of your pain is the -itis (inflammation). Take them with food. If they start to upset your stomach or you have any bloody or dark colored vomit/stool, stop taking them and go to the ER.
If you don't think you will be able to see a doctor, you can try some gentle shoulder exercises on your own. Finally, it's important that you see either a sports medicine trained primary care provider or an orthopaedic surgeon. There are more subtle causes of pain that need to be ruled out (SLAP tears, biceps tendonitis, subacromial impingement, etc).
Disclaimer: I am an orthopaedic surgeon, but without being able to take a thorough history, examine you, and order imaging studies the above should be understood to be only a generality and not specific treatment recommendations for YOU. For example, if this is a small tear that you neglect, it could progress to a massive tear. This can then retract and become irreparable and you would have permanent shoulder disability (such as being able to elevate your arm over your head). In short, go see your doctor.
Eventually (once my seizures were fully controlled) I got surgery and went through my PT regime, and everything is good as new. I'll probably have problems with arthritis as I get older, but not much I can do there.
I'd definitely recommend following Windburn's advice. Rest, ibuprofen for pain, and shoulder exercises. Remove your major risk factors (skateboarding).
When you do go to PT, FOLLOW THEIR ADVICE. Do the exercises. If they tell you to immobilize your arm, immobilize it. I probably could have avoided major surgery and 4+ months of rehab if I had controlled my seizures earlier (by following doctor advice) and done the exercises they recommended originally.
The only reason that I can do everything today I'd be able to do was because I got my head out of my ass and listened to my doctors about everything. I spent two months with an arm immobilized, and four months doing PT three times a week. It wasn't easy or fun, but it was worth it. Take care of yourself or you could have a serious and life-long disability.