One thing i always do to make sure I dont get very many pains, is I stretch. Every morning and usually at about noon I take and stretch my whole body out, does wonders.

 

Just a hunch, you went to a general (GP)? It is the old sprain and take these meds for two weeks and come back and check with me. I have some questions for you and hopefully I can help.

1. Where is the Pain?
2. Do you have the same Range of Motion (ROM) from the effected and unaffected side?
3. What triggers this pain?
4. Does it hurt more in the morning or after non-use than if you are constantly using it?

It sounds like you may have a problem with your rotor cuff muscles (four in total). Try this and tell me if it hurts.

Take a can of corn (or any vegetables) and put it down by your side. Raise it up at about 45-degree angle. Slowly bring your arms up parallel to your shoulders. If you have pain there it is the suprasinotus.
Turn your hands so that your thumbs are down. Your arms should be extended at 60 degrees out and have another person push on the top of your wrist trying to push your arms back down. If this hurts you have a subscapularis problem.

If you do have a rotator cuff problem them there is a simple fix and that is exercise. The most important thing to remember is that the cuff is a minimal use set of muscles and anything over five pounds will cause the deltoids and the pecks to fire instead of the cuff.

Exercises: You can use a 12oz can if you do not have any weights.
Lie on your right side and put your arm at 90-degree angle. Simply bring your hand back to the midline of your body. Reverse for the left side. Stand up and simply raise up your hand until you reach a 90-degree angle and simply extend your arm as far back as possible. Try this for a week and see what the results are.

I hope that this helps. It is a little hard to explain without being able to show you how to conduct the exercises

 

I'm in sort of the same situation; I run hydraulic controls that are at shoulder to head height for the majority of the day and this puts a lot of stress on my left shoulder. So much so that it's putting my neck out of whack on the right side, making my left arm and index finger go numb when I sit in certain positions.

I don't believe in tylenol, advil and the like because they don't solve anything. No one ever got a sprain or pulled muscle or a headache from a lack of tylenol in their system. Topical treatments only make your skin burn so you forget about the original pain.

I do have a good and competant chiropractor but after three visits with no results I finally went to a doctor to see of there was something else we were missing. Got some z-rays done and took them back to my chiro. Now that he has seen what the problem is we are making some progress. it will probably take two or three more visits before it is completely fised. The doctor also gave me some muscle relaxants and a pain reliever - celebrex - which I didn't ask for, but it appears it may have some other benefits... I just want the mobility in my neck to be back to normal. The muscle relaxant is great, I wake up in the morning and I feel like I've had a massage all night.

Be wary of a chiropractor that immediately tries to get you booked for five or more appointments after one visit. I'm not saying that's a hard and fast rule because some instances may require a few visits to fix. Just be wary of the one that wants you in the office perpetually. Any chiropractor can make your bones crack at any given time but that doesn't necessarily mean he's actually doing anything. A good one will do his/her best do get the job done in one shot.

 

I second the multiple scheduler... first Chiro I went to was not effective, had me coming in 3 times a week for a few weeks, and still was getting nowhere. I quit and didn't go to any doc for 5 years, my then wife convinced me to try another, he had me fixed up in 3 visits, and only scheduled another after each treatment was done so he could see how I was coming along before he decided if I needed to come back or not. At the time I started the treatments initially, I had low back issues, I could hardly stand up from a bent position. I dealt with it for 5 years because of "milker". After the second doc, I was no longer having to deal with it, as long as I went in about once every three months.

 

I have a lot of pain in my right shoulder. I need rotor cuff surgery to remove a bone chip. I take OTC pain pills & sport creams to get by with till I can get it fixed. The surgery has a 4 month recovery time. I'll get it done after hunting season. I have my prioritys.

 

I had the same problem, mine would pop and I'd be in excreutiating pain from it, helped my dad build a fence one day, had to take about 4-5 tylenol to get it done, driving in 25 steel T-posts about did me in (shoulder-wise). The rest of the day my shoulder was hurting so badly it turned my right arm into a lifeless hangin piece of meat pretty much. I had my fiance rub it out for a few days and then gradualy I've been doing a bunch of stuff aroud my hose, swinging a splitting maul to split firewood for this winter and then throwing a football more with my nephew lately has helped it quite a bit. I think I had originally slept on it wrong. 25 years old, average shape!

 

Drugs are given out like candy now a days because it is cheaper for HMO's and insurance companies to treat pain rather than to treat the cause. To really find out what is going on you need an MRI, need to see a Chiropracter?SP and so on and that is more expensive than just giving you some anti-inflamitories and something for pain and shipping you out. Its a shame, but that is how things are done now a days.

 

Try sleeping on your back. some side sleeping positions put great stree on the shoulder, and may even restrict circulation to the area.

 

Aztrainer gave a good description of a proper exercise to do to strengthen/rehab your rotator cuff....if that is the problem. It is very close to treatment we would provide to our pitching staff as part of surgery rehab. However, I would wait for a proper diganosis by an MD before using this particular treatment.

Your symptoms could be something simple and in that case Motrin is at least part of the answer. It will make the inflammation decrease which will likely relieve the cause of your pain, which will further decrease the inflammation, etc. Maybe you stretched it the wrong way, lifted something a bit awkwardly....who knows. Glucosamine is a good deal, but, not for a muscle strain/tear.

If I were in your position, I would go see a sports medicine specialist. He/she will be much better able to diagnose the problem correctly...which may include an MRI or a visit to a DO (Doctor of Osteopath). I have found it very difficult to find a good Chiropractor.



lariat97...I have your same priorities. Not much will get in the way of hunting season.

 

The only time I ever hurt my shoulder or any other part of my body was when I lifted a box out of my truck the wrong way on a cold morning BEFORE my body was warmed up. It won't take much weight at all to do this to you. Just moving the wrong way when you are cold can do it.

I find that by exercising daily I keep my joints and muscles in good shape. I spend 15 minutes each morning stretching. Then I grab the 10lb. dumbbells to warm my joints and muscles before gradually moving up in weight.

Sleeping on a pillow of the wrong thickness can result in neck, back and shoulder trouble. Since I'm a side sleeper, I have two pillows. Years ago I developed a "shooting pain" in my neck. I looked in the mirror and noticed I was developing a curve in my upper back/neck, much like Ali has. I quickly realized it was caused by my sleeping on my back on those two pillows. The nerves in my neck were being pinched. I started increasing my neck exercises and the curve and pain went away.

A long, hot soak in a hot tub has been known to ease pain and sore muscles/joints.

Doctors push pills because drug companies give doctors perks, like vacations and such. The more pills that are pushed the better the "fringe benefits." How often do doctors tell their over weight patients, "You could lower your blood pressure, avoid diabetes, lose weight and feel much better if you get off your butt and eat healthy food (what, no more chili dogs?) and exercise everyday?" It dosen't happen too often does it? No, it's usually, "Here, take this pill." But then I guess doctors are only telling us what most of us want to hear.

-1bigsteve (o:

 

Old Age?? What's that? How long has this disease been around? Is it like the West Nile Virus? I can't get it from sitting on a public toilet seat can I? Man, I just knew something bad was going to catch up with me sooner or later!...


-1bigsteve (o:

 

I had the problem with the bone spur rubbing on the rotator cuff. Had it removed last Jan. and I am totally without pain now, even played some tennis with my daughter this summer. My Orthopedic guy told me that if I had let it go much longer it would have worn through the rotator cuff and I would have had a much longer recovery. If you are in pain have it looked at by an orthopedic surgeon.