Advice for Shoulder/Back Pain

jaitken_22

I am looking for some advice about shoulder/back pain I have been experiencing the past few days. I woke up on Thursday 7am feeling perfectly fine, but it wasn't until about 8.30am when I was doing my hair and all of a sudden this pain appeared around my right shoulder blade. It just appeared from nowhere. It wasn't as if I had pain and it got worse and I didn't move funny, I just felt sore and stiff and couldn't move as freely as I normally can. The worst of the pain lasted Thursday and Friday. I started to take 1 Co-codomol tablet (strong painkiller) on Saturday morning and evening, which eased the pain for about 8 hours each time but the tablet made me feel tingly and made me hyper. I took another 1 on Sunday and again yesterday 1 tablet, still feeling the same so have decided to stop taking them. The pain has slowly gone away but now I am left with twinges/pulsing feeling at my shoulder blade which is driving me bonkers and I am looking for advice for anything I could do to get rid of this. I did not exercise last week as I was too busy so I expect it's nothing to do with that. I am back to exercising this week but I will avoid the eliptical and rowing machine in case I make it worse.

MrsT_2009

I had a similar problem with my low back last year. I decided to talk to a chiropractor and I'm so glad I did. The numbness and tingling I was feeling was my nerves being pinched by my vertebrae being out of line. The same thing can happen in your upper back and affect your shoulder. It may be worth a shot to talk with a chiropractor.

As a side note, I had spoken to a family doctor before going the chiro. route and was told it was muscle spasms and I would probably just have them the rest of my life. They gave me muscle relaxers which helped but didn't solve the problem. The chiropractor has gotten my pain under control!

stayxtrue

Definitely go find a decent chiro. I have a sooo many back issues and going to a chiro often see me much more comfortable after going. You want go to one which uses techniques to allow the nerves to function correctly. This usually means its about the movement of all limbs and making sure that they all have a decent mobility. Also a physio, i got to both and it honestly has helped me so much

jaitken_22

My shoulders have started to click more in the last few months, I can feel it slight pain like when you have to crack your knuckles, so for my shoulder I pull my arm in front of my chest and it clicks and then I'm fine. So I don't know if that's related. I really don't want to rely on medication from my doctor to make it better, especially as the worst of the pain has gone. I think I'll look into the chiro route as they helped my mum after getting a trapped nerve. The twinges are sore, but more annoying than anything!

stayxtrue

I have very similar issues to you in the back of the shoulders by the sounds of it. I you may need multiple quick visits to get the correction right, I was going twice a week for 3 weeks then once a week for 3 weeks, now I go once every2-6 weeks depending on how my back is, but sooooo worth the money!

RAFValentina

My top advice without sounding like a snotty so and so is to go to your GP... noone on here can diagnose you and you will need a physical examination of it so the doctor can determine EXACTLY where you are suffering and look at other factors and signs/symptoms. So get yourself booked in to the docs, or go to a walk-in NHS centre or something similar like the minor injuries unit at your local hospital. They'll square you away and you may need physio...in which case, you need to go sooner rather than later as if you have no health insurance, you could end up waiting up to 3 months before your first appointment due to waiting lists!

Val's top tip for anybody reading this:

It's all well and good asking people on here for medical advice for a known and diagnosed injury (for example your doc says you have shin splints and then asking people's advice who too have suffered with this confirmed diagnosis and pointers from them) but for something that hasn't been diagnosed, you're best off nipping to see the doc as they''ll be able to help you out much better than us!

jaitken_22

Thanks everyone! I've phoned my GP and I have been prescribed anti inflammatories so will be picking them up tonight!