Shoulder problems

[ZenSojourner]

Last year I injured my left shoulder hauling my extremely ill male parental unit about in a wheel chair, up and down steps, up over the threshold into the house, etc. He is a foot taller than me and weighs on the order of 185 lbs.

It started out as some sort of rotator cuff injury, probably not a full tear but some strain, then ended up with frozen shoulder. I literally could not move my left arm from the shoulder without intense and excruciating pain. That lasted for about 8 or 9 months.

Since then it's loosened up a lot, it's some better, but I doubt I will ever regain full use or full range of motion. No insurance = no therapy, no treatment.

I've not yet tried to ride with it - riding was impossible last spring and summer as I could not reach forward let alone actually use it even if I COULD get it into position - but I hope to begin riding again very soon now that spring is upon us.

I'd like to hear any advice or experiences from any of you out there who have had to recover from a similar injury.

I'm road biking, btw, so we're talking tuck 'n pedal, not an upright posture. I had considered buying a Terry Susan B (can't ride off-the-rack bikes, I'm way to short waisted) but they're not manufacturing them this year. So road bike it is.

Thanks for any input.

Sojourner

[OakLeaf]

Mine's never been that bad, but I was having a lot of shoulder trouble over the fall and winter. Limited range of motion and it even got to the point of pec minor impingement on a nerve in my arm. I'm lucky to be able to afford an absolutely wonderful massage therapist, but with a Thera-Cane and some persistence you can work all those trigger points out yourself. This is the reference I use, which is the myofascial "Bible" for a lot of TErs, but the same authors have a book specifically about frozen shoulder.

I had trigger points not only in my rotators (particularly the infraspinatus, but all through them), but also all over the delts, pecs, SCM and trapezius. Once a muscle group gets that bad, all the surrounding and opposing muscle groups tend to become involved.

Hope you and your father both feel better.

[Kiwi Stoker]

I am still recovering from a serious shoulder break and muscles torn off injury (its been 10 months now).
I managed to start riding on the back of the tandem 3 months after the injury (don't have to worry about steering or braking) and it took 8 months before I rode a bike by myself. I started on a flat bar road bike first as my hand and arm muscles are very weak and the flat bar road bike had disc brakes that were easy to pull. Last month I got back on my road bike proper but find my shoulder gets sore from leaning on it and the road vibrations so have to limit it to 40-50km rides at the moment.

As suggested, find exercises on the net and start moving the arm. It's a case of move it or lose it. It will hurt, so take painkillers beforehand, but try and do the exercises- walking your fingers up the wall. Raising and slowly lowering your arm, get some tights etc and do the pulling exercises. If you can afford it, try and find a good sports massage or at least pay for one session with a physio to get some advice.

The good news is that you don't need full range of motion to ride a bike- I am now working on being able to raise my arm to shave my armpit (I can now wash my hair with both hands) but I might not be able to swim overarm again, but my physio has said alot of it is in the mind (trying to let my muscles know its OK now to move instead of tensing up) and that anything is possible if I want to do it.

Good luck!

[NbyNW]

+1 on Oakleaf's recommendations for your shoulder. I'm pretty sure my bodywork guy uses these techniques on me, as I see the books on his shelf.

I've had some shoulder problems myself in the past, so I can sympathize with the pain. Don't give up on it! It will take serious time and discipline on your part. Getting that mobility back may be hard work, painful, and boring, but you can do it.

Have you tried hot/cold, ibuprofen, etc., to help blood flow, reduce inflammation, etc?

Some things I was told to do for my past shoulder injuries (one was from dragonboat racing, the other was from using crutches & cane when I hurt my back):

alternate hot & cold therapy -- the cold reduces inflammation, the hot (or warm) helps get fresh circulation into the injured area

warm to hot bath or shower -- whatever you can tolerate -- to get the muscles warm. While you're in the bath take each end of a long bath mesh (sort of like a poof, except it's long and is looped or braided) to scrub your back. (You can use a small towel if you don't have a mesh thingy) Diagonally, right hand up, left hand down. Then switch. Then go straight across your back, upper, middle, lower. In addition to getting your back clean, it helps with surface circulation of your big shoulder muscles, and helps gently move through that range of motion. My Dr. had me doing this twice a day initially.

And what Kiwi Stoker said: use it or lose it. When I went back to work, one of my responsibilities was to empty out the office dishwasher first thing every morning. I hated it, but I swear that repetitive light lifting was probably one of the best things for my shoulder at the time.

It was probably a year to 18 months before I started to feel like the shoulder wasn't affecting my daily life . . . so be patient!

----

Finally, a bit of a rant as to how you got hurt:

When I hurt my back a few years ago, I noticed that all the medical personnel who were moving me around -- EMT's, nurses, etc. -- were using very practiced techniques so as to not exacerbate my injuries and also to avoid injuring themselves. After all, they do this for a living and have to be able to assist people every day without hurting themselves.

I'm a pretty small person, but I got hurt in Guatemala, and some of the nurses there were even smaller than me. And they had to help me with getting in and out of bed, toilet, shower, all of it. They didn't have walkers crutches, or wheelchair for me to be able to help myself, so someone had to help me anytime I needed to get out of bed.

Given how short hospital stays are these days, and that most people's homes are not set up for mobility impairments due to illness or injury, it seems that family members should be coached on the same lifting techniques that the professionals use. Doesn't make sense to send somebody home so that the person taking care of them gets hurt. Thank goodness my sister is an EMT or I would not have been able to get into the house when I got out of the hospital!

[ZenSojourner]

Have you tried hot/cold, ibuprofen, etc., to help blood flow, reduce inflammation, etc?

Yes, heat seems to give me some relief but it's a tough area to keep the heating pad on. Also, in a misguided attempt to protects us from ourselves (those of us who are idiots, at any rate), the new heating pad I bought has limiter circuits that (1) keep it from heating up as much as I would prefer and (2) keep shutting it off after about 10 minutes.

Ibuprofen et al do not seem to do anything noticeable but I've not objection to trying again. That was back when it was at it's worst and I had total immobility due to the pain.

Finally, a bit of a rant as to how you got hurt:

<snip>

Given how short hospital stays are these days, and that most people's homes are not set up for mobility impairments due to illness or injury, it seems that family members should be coached on the same lifting techniques that the professionals use. Doesn't make sense to send somebody home so that the person taking care of them gets hurt. Thank goodness my sister is an EMT or I would not have been able to get into the house when I got out of the hospital!

I ASKED for this sort of training and was told it wouldn't do me any good! I asked about lift belts as well, and also for training to help get my dad up if he falls. I was told there was no training that would help.

Right now I'm concerned because we're going off hospice and that means no more personal aid for my dad, which means I have to help him shower. This was impossible for me to do a few months ago as I couldn't lift my arm at all. It'll be hard even now. It worries me.

I can wash my hair again, which is such a relief. But I still have difficulty reaching around behind me. Sometimes I backslide a bit and can't raise it all the way up but it seems to get better in a couple of days. It's just sort of off and on at this point.

I do try to move it frequently throughout the day in addition to just using it in normal daily activities. It is much better than it was but the pain never has really gone away and I really don't have full range of motion. I expect to be able to ride bike again, but I don't think I'll be doing any kayaking anymore.

Thanks for the advice.

Sojourner

PS - I've ordered the books on trigger points. I always thought that was quackery, but I've about come to the conclusion that most mainstream medicine is, too. If it doesn't help hopefully it at least won't hurt, LOL!

[bacarver]

I have a question.
I started having anterior shoulder pain a couple days ago and I have no idea why. I've lifted hand weights since 2002 and my routine is reasonable with the heaviest weight at 10 pounds each for a total of 20 pounds.
It hurts when I comb my hair more than anything. My shoulder aches and "burns" even when I'm just sitting. It seems to pop inside the joint at times when I raise and rotate my shoulder. I still have full range of motion.
I won't be lifting weights or doing push ups for awhile till this heals whatever it is.
Is this descriptive of a muscle tear for those of you who have had one?
Gosh, I'm falling apart.
Thanks - Barb

[ZenSojourner]

Here is a list of the symptoms of some common shoulder injuries:

http://www.freemd.com/shoulder-injury/symptoms.htm

But a lot of the symptoms are virtually identical for sometimes quite different injuries. Basically it almost boils down to "yes my shoulder hurts".

You'll need to see a doc to tell for sure what's going on, possibly an X-ray or even an MRI might be needed to diagnose the actual problem.

BTW, the books suggested to me in this thread on trigger points and frozen shoulder got here yesterday, so I'm hoping I've got something that will help me now.

[OakLeaf]

Just to add something into the mix, I've become very conscious that my sleep habits were aggravating the muscle imbalances in my shoulders.

Now, I make sure that if I'm on my back, my hands are palms up (externally rotating the humeri) and if I'm on my side, my elbows are even with or behind my spine (preventing the shoulders from collapsing anteriorly).

[ZenSojourner]

Apparently my habit of leaning on my elbow to use my laptop in bed has caused an ulnar nerve entrapment.

Guess I'm going to have to get the back room set up for my computer right away, LOL!

[Biciclista]

frozen shoulder was the most dramatic skeletal=muscular problem i've ever had.
I tweaked it doing a butterfly stroke the one and only time i'd ever been in Hawaii. it was irritating, but no big deal and i pretty much forgot about it until it suddenly got so bad that I could not lift my arm. A sudden move would produce pain so bad that more than once I collapsed. The reason for the severe pain is adhesions that form from inflammation during the healing process. what you need to do is work those free, which hurts!
Since you are on a limited budget, you might look into yoga or pilates. Of course if your shoulder did not repair right from the original injury, you might still have problems, but frozen shoulder is, in a way, the body's way of protecting itself from further harm.
You need to find a way to work on your range of motion. If you are near a training hospital, you might have a chance to get student therapists to massage and work the sore limb. It can be done, because I did it.
The most baffling thing about it was the reactions to it by the medical community. There was a lot of head scratching, as I asked some friends who were doctors. They acted like it was a rare and unknown ailment. They had no sure cure for it. Since I have medical insurance, I went immediately to a first rate orthopedic surgeon. He had xrays and some kind of scan done, where they inject dye into the shoulder socket. He mentioned that sometimes that dye shot did the trick, as if it were a trick. It didn't, and it hurt like hell! however, that's when i got the diagnosis. The Dr told me to do what I could, he was not of the school of putting you under and ripping it all loose because he said sometimes it froze right back over again. I asked him for a prescription for physical therapy, which i went to even when my insurance ran out (ouch, that was expensive) because I could see it was helping. Then I used my acupuncture benefit and used that up, found a great acupuncture dr who knew right where I needed massage the most. It hurt a lot, but she was helping me with those adhesions.
When i ran out of that benefit too, I continued with the exercises and now today, a few years later, every now and then I'll get a pain while doing something and I can tell
it's an adhesion and I try to work it through but now I have 98% range of motion, you'd have to look really hard to see the diff between my two arms.

[Becky]

Just to add something into the mix, I've become very conscious that my sleep habits were aggravating the muscle imbalances in my shoulders.

Now, I make sure that if I'm on my back, my hands are palms up (externally rotating the humeri) and if I'm on my side, my elbows are even with or behind my spine (preventing the shoulders from collapsing anteriorly).

That's really interesting, Oakleaf. I've often wondered why my neck and shoulders sometimes hurt after sleeping on my side. I'll have to give this a try!

[Biciclista]

Just to add something into the mix, I've become very conscious that my sleep habits were aggravating the muscle imbalances in my shoulders.

Now, I make sure that if I'm on my back, my hands are palms up (externally rotating the humeri) and if I'm on my side, my elbows are even with or behind my spine (preventing the shoulders from collapsing anteriorly).

oh gosh, me too!!! I do more damage at night while sleeping to my neck than any other time.

[Doolzeenea]

I'm on my third month with Physical Therapy for Frozen Shoulder after a fall shoveling snow mid December. Shoulder muscle, bone and joint is great and complex. I learn moving is the key to prevent adhesions (scar tissue) ROM Range of Motion exercise could help no need for PT's the Reebok Toning Tubes or bands can help. Hot moist compreses for 10 minutes and stretch your arms with a simple pulley will must likely easy the pain. I ride an Electra Towne with Xtracycle for touring with two dogs and cargo, but Sport Physician and Therapist ground me this summer. I refused Cortisone shot in January, sadly after two months on Therapy no progress I said Yes to Cortisone Shot Now stretch manipulation and exercises are doing the trick. ZenSojourner save your shoulder give it a chance to heal. Maybe a upright bike may help?
Best regards

Last year I injured my left shoulder hauling my extremely ill male parental unit about in a wheel chair, up and down steps, up over the threshold into the house, etc. He is a foot taller than me and weighs on the order of 185 lbs.

It started out as some sort of rotator cuff injury, probably not a full tear but some strain, then ended up with frozen shoulder. I literally could not move my left arm from the shoulder without intense and excruciating pain. That lasted for about 8 or 9 months.

Since then it's loosened up a lot, it's some better, but I doubt I will ever regain full use or full range of motion. No insurance = no therapy, no treatment.

I've not yet tried to ride with it - riding was impossible last spring and summer as I could not reach forward let alone actually use it even if I COULD get it into position - but I hope to begin riding again very soon now that spring is upon us.

I'd like to hear any advice or experiences from any of you out there who have had to recover from a similar injury.

I'm road biking, btw, so we're talking tuck 'n pedal, not an upright posture. I had considered buying a Terry Susan B (can't ride off-the-rack bikes, I'm way to short waisted) but they're not manufacturing them this year. So road bike it is.

Thanks for any input.

Sojourner